The Meeting
by Isabel Samms
Summary: All credit due to Shonda Rhimes. My take on Olitz. Enjoy! This will be several chapters. Cristsism can be negative or positive, but must be constructive!
1. Chapter 1- The Meeting

**Chapter 1**

"Anything I should know about?"

Every head in the room turned in tandem.

Fitz stared at the deadpan faces staring back at him. He tried to read their expressions but got nothing. He knew they had been discussing him; he had heard his name while approaching the door.

They continued staring at him poker-faced. Any other coterie would have been fidgeting; hiding their faces to conceal the guilt and embarrassment of having the person being discussed unexpectedly enter the room. The players in this room revealed nothing. There was nothing revealed, no expression to read among the group. The atmosphere in the room _did_ change, more secretive, but there was no clue to discern among all the participants seated around the table at the dining room in Governors California residence.

Mellie, Verna, Cyrus, Olivia and Hollis were for lack of better expression ruthless, political operatives and would never have a give anything away. Catch them at the scene of a murder covered in blood with the murder weapon in hand …. there would be no tell.

"Fitz" Cyrus stood, recovering the quickest. "We were just going over the NH primaries projections, didn't see any point in interrupting your call with the kids".

Fitz knowing this was not the truth decided not to push the issue…. for now.

"Fine, I need to know what the plan is with the Mellie and Paul Mosley story" Fitz said. Olivia quickly stood along with Cyrus Beene, his campaign manager.

"We've come up with something. Cy and I can go over the details with you"

xxxx

 **One year Earlier**

"I am not working for a Republican Cy, final! C'est Fini!"

"Come on Liv! You and I have been around too long to let personal credo get in the way of ambition. I am telling you Liv, this guy got's something... but I need you to come do what you best; read people for me and tell me why we are not winning!"

"I repeat Cy. I will not work for a Republican! it goes against everything…" Cyrus interrupted

"Liv, I'm gay and your black, we are the very definition of Republican no-no's, but this guy Liv…. this guy might be the one to turn it around!

Fitz can help us bring those stodgy,misogynistic, racist, e.t.c assholes into the 21st Century!"

He sighed heavily "…. Will you at least think about it? Tell me you'll think about it…" Cyrus pleaded

Olivia remained silent. The very fact that she was entertaining the idea showed how much she valued Cy as a friend.

"Fine, I will think about it"

"Love you Liv"

"Goodbye Cy!"

* * *

 **One Month Later….**

"I don't understand how she keeps out polling us…. Christ!" Cyrus roared, frustrated and angry looking at the poll numbers.

Olivia was in California visiting her best friend Abby, but had penciled time to stop by and visit her mentor from Georgetown, Cyrus Beene. She hadn't accepted the job he had offered her the month prior, but she hadn't yet rejected the offer outright either. She wasn't sure why.

Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III, the governor of California was currently running for highest office in the land and he had hand picked Cyrus Beene to be his campaign manger and lead strategist while he made a bid for the White House.

Fitzgerald Thomas the Grant the III was smart.

Cyrus was without a doubt the smartest, most conniving, adroit legal mind she had ever met in her 32 years on the earth. She pitied the Governors competitor; the bible thumper, Sally Langston. She would hate to be on the opposing side of Cyrus Rutherford Beene. He was a monster when off his leash.

Olivia had gone to meet Cy at the Grant campaign headquarters. The campaign HQ was housed in a chic office building that had all the bells and whistles, including a state of the art conference room where they were seated eating lunch and discussing all things Grant.

Olivia glanced over the data, Cyrus had pushed in front of her despite her objections. _So much for a friendly lunch to catch up,_ she thought.

"Well Sally Langston has Jesus, Cyrus. Jesus plays to the Republican base" Olivia said answering his question.

"Your boy is handsome and has a gorgeous head of hair... but, he also has a suspicious record of voting left of center during his tenure as CA Governor" Olivia looked over the latest polling numbers.

"Look Cy, the Governor is not going to swing the hardcore base, the Evangelicals, Sally has them sewed in tight. Your only hope is fighting for the moderate centrist Republicans. You need to push hard for the Independents. The Minority votes as well. Black and Latino voters are some of the most conservative people in America, but will always vote left due to the Republicans race problem. You need to show them that that is this is a different kind of Republican Candidate. A Conservative…but not racist, homophobic…. blah blah blah.

Olivia's mind raced as she strategized. She looked at the numbers generated by the private firm Cyrus had contracted with to poll the Republican voters on specific issues.

"Cy look, we need to focus on selling everything about the conservative agenda, but in an inclusionary way. "Liv stood and walked over to the white board in the conference room.

"We can sell this…. Jesus, sure we love Jesus, but we also follow his message of loving all; including those who differ from us. Its not a new message, but the way we sell it should be. A republican, sans the cliche bigotry. We can make this work!

"Liv…."

"No Cy, listen to me! The Evangelicals are never going to vote for Grant over Sally, so let's take them off the table, stop pandering to them..."

"Why don't we just run as Democrats…." he groused

"Because, we are not Democrats we are Republicans! We are still pro-gun, pro-life, ant-big government, but we also believe that everyone has a right to be pro-gun, pro-life and anti-big government even if those people are brown and have a sexual preference for genitals that match their own!" she said. The ideas stampeded into her head each one vying for attention.

"If we sell this the right way we have a shot!" she said excitedly

Cyrus looked over at Olivia's face; It had been transformed. The energy around her crackled as she furiously jotted down her ideas on the white board. This was the reason he wanted to bring her in. Olivia thrived on challenges. The quickest way to get Olivia going was to tell her something was impossible. The idea of someone saying she couldn't get Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III into the White house, would bring out the strategical monster that laid dormant in her. The monster he had recognized and nurtured during her college years in Georgetown when he was her professor.

"Does that mean you are in…? "Cyrus asked startling her out of the storm of ideas swirling unchecked in her brain. She stopped writing and looked at her mentor.

"I'm in…but I'm not voting for him!"

* * *

Olivia looked herself over in the mirror. She had on a dark Tom Ford suit, hair tied up in a bun, her only concession on makeup was mascara and a nude gloss on her lips. She was finally going to meet Governor Grant. She was scheduled to meet Cy and Fitzgerald Grant the III for dinner and she wanted to convey a certain professionalism when she met him.

After accepting the job from Cyrus, she had begun the arduous process of moving her entire life from New York to California where the Grant Campaign headquarters were located.

It had taken her two months, but she was finally here and ready to hit the ground. The alarm on her phone rang signaling the time, 7 p.m. She tended to get lost in her thoughts while working and the alarm helped her keep her schedule.

She was meeting the two gentlemen for dinner at 7:30 pm.

She silenced the alarm grabbed her pocket book and made her way out to her car.

* * *

"Liv"

Olivia was focused on the back of the maître de who was showing her to the reserved table, when she heard Cyrus call her name. They reached the table at the back of the restaurant and she walked over to a smiling Cyrus and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey Cy"

"Liv, I would like you to meet the next President of the United States, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III. Cyrus turned to the governor "Fitz, this is the girl that gonna save our asses…. meet Olivia Pope"

Olivia turned and stopped short, staring at the tall man who stood before her. She had seen the Governor on TV, you didn't run for president without dominating news feeds, and she also knew he was handsome. However, nothing could have prepared her for the visceral reaction she had when she finally came face to face with him. Every hair on her body stood straight up and an electrical current shot down her spine and through every nerve in her body.

Governor Grant stared at the petite woman standing in front of him, speechless. She had her head tilted back to enable her to make eye contact due to the differences in their heights. Everything inside him stood still as he took inventory of every perfect feature his eyes made contact with across her face. Beautiful seemed like an understatement to describe the striking creature standing before him.

Cyrus stood off to at the side of the table wondering why, two of the most well-spoken people he had ever interacted with were staring silently at each other not uttering a word.

"Fitz" Cyrus said trying to break through the awkward silence "did I ever tell you that Olivia here is the best student I ever had?"

Cyrus's voice broke through the fog.

"Hi"

"Hi"

* * *

"Thank you for agreeing to work on the campaign" Governor Grant said once they were all seated.

"I should be thanking you for the opportunity. If you win, this will be a nice addition to my professional profile" she smiled at him but didn't quite make eye contact, she wasn't ready for that.

"We will win!" Cy averred confidently "Fitz, Liv sent me the latest ideas on how to approach Iowa and I think you are going to be as blown away as I am" he said beaming with pride at his mentee.

Before she had a chance to respond the waiter came over and took their orders.

Dinner was a long affair that included them brainstorming on how to win over women. The poll numbers showed that Sally Langston was out-polling Fitz with women across every demographic.

"I really thought he would be polling better with women" Cyrus said mystified

"Why, because his nice to look at?" Olivia asked. Cy nodded and Olivia was incensed.

"Give us credit Cyrus. Its taken years to get a viable woman candidate for president on the ballot and for you to think we would give that up for a chance to stare at his pretty face for the next eight years is belittling. We are voting for the President not who is cutest member of a boy band"

Cy looked sufficiently chastised so she continued "If you want women voters you appeal to them the same way that you appeal to your male voters, by promising to deliver on things that are important to them. Equal pay, healthcare, access to birth control, education…."

"Okay...Okay" Cyrus interrupted sulkily, throwing his hands up

"Plus look at the numbers Cy, he's polling very well among some Non-Republican women...and men; So the way he looks is playing a part" she conceded.

"Are we done discussing me like I'm not in the room?" Cyrus and Olivia turned and looked at Fitz.

"I'm running to be the President of the United States. I'm not some masturbatory figure for women and men to gawk at. I'm running to provide people with the things that matter to them. Opportunities to better their lives and you two are sitting here discussing me like I am running for American Idol!".

Fitz picked his napkin off his lap threw it on the table angrily.

"Fitz…" Cyrus started to respond to the angry outburst but Olivia interrupted.

"Governor I can appreciate your exasperation at people voting for you based on your appearance and not merit, but let's not pretend that you looking the way you do, doesn't provide us with an advantage we can _and_ should use".

"I don't want to win that way" Fitz responded sharply.

"You wouldn't be winning that way" Olivia responded placating the Governor

"You would be giving yourself an edge that way. Look Governor, there is a reason that people cast the villain as unattractive and the hero as attractive ,whether you believe it or not your looks are helping you carry favor with a lot of voters…plus unless you're planning on disfiguring yourself in some way this whole argument is meaningless".

Reading the growing discomfort on Fitz's face, Cyrus quickly chimed in "I'm not asking you to make an appearance at the Chippendales, we are just saying we need to play the fact that you're easy on the eyes. This is politics and you being…." Cyrus paused looking for the appropriate word.

"Gorgeous" Olivia uttered without thinking. Realizing what she had said she quickly covered her mouth, but they had both overheard her.

"You think I'm gorgeous?" Fitz stated leaning towards her with a curious smile.

"No! not me, the voters…. you know the people we are trying to… the polls show that..." Olivia looked at two men and they stared right back at her.

Fitz with a mischievous grin and Cyrus with a puzzled frown.

 _Olivia get gone, girl!_

She stood up and placed her napkin on the table. It was time to call it a night!

"Listen so this was a good first meeting. However, I am exhausted from the move and all so if you gentlemen will excuse me, I will say goodnight and see you tomorrow at HQ" She grabbed her purse off the floor and made for the door in quick measured steps.

By the time both men had stood, she was halfway out the door with her bag slung over her shoulder.

Cyrus smiled "What I tell you? a pistol!"

Fitz stared at the door Olivia "Your right Cy" he agreed "she's a pistol"

* * *

Olivia got back in her car and focused on how good it felt to have her hands behind the wheel of a car. Having a car in NY didn't make much sense, it only took one train ride to get her to her old job at the Law Firm. Owning a car just wouldn't have been cost effective in NY.

She was in SO-CAL now and having a car was a necessity. A wonderful, freedom providing necessity.

As she drove she thought about her dinner with Cyrus and the Governor and felt her cheeks stain with embarrassment for the 100th time. _Snap out of it she yelled at herself internally. You told him the voters thought he was hot, not that you thought he was hot. It was just an observation, right?_ Her phone rung bringing her out of her inappropriate thoughts. Her friends name flashed across the console.

"Hey Abby"

"So, did you meet him? was he just as smoking in person or is the camera lying?"

"The camera is not lying; the camera is actually failing to show all the fine that is Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III" she stated, truthfully.

A scream came across her radio as Abby yelled.

"Whoo-hoo, oh god Liv, please tell me I can meet him, please!" she pleaded

"Abby we've had this talk. You can meet him with the caveat that you acknowledge that one, he is married so you will keep your hands off him; and two, he is running for president so you will keep your hands off him. I might make you sign a disclosure agreeing to it" she was only half joking. Abby could get wicked thirsty around good looking men; and Fitzgerald Grant was...well...

"Your no fun Liv" Abby lamented.

"Not while I am working, I'm not" she agreed.

"Fine, I will keep my hands off hot stuff" Abby said. Olivia smiled imagining the pout on her friend's face.

"I'm home now and exhausted Abby, call you later"

"Good night, Liv"

* * *

"Your late" Mellie Grant sat on the large bed in the master bedroom of the Governors mansion drinking moonshine out of a mason jar. A donor from her home state of Georgia had sent a case to her after she had charmed him during last years correspondents dinner.

Fitz turned around to see Mellie seated on the bed holding a jar of her moonshine. He felt a wave of exhaustion hit him at the sight of her. Mellie didn't seek him out unless she wanted something or was scheming to get him to do something she wanted to her own ends.

He hoped whatever it was, it was simple. He could then cede it to her and go to bed. He was exhausted.

"Yeah, Cy, Olivia and I had a lot to talk about" he responded taking off his coat and tie.

"What she like?" Mellie asked. She knew that he had been going to meet with his campaign manager Cyrus Beene and a former student of his Olivia Pope that had been tasked with turning the campaign around.

 _Beautiful, the woman of my dreams, Fitz thought to himself._

"Smart, Cyrus made a good choice. She will be a good addition" Fitz stated now seated on the couch taking off his shoes and socks.

Mellie thought she caught something in his voice when she asked about Ms. Pope's, but she let it go.

"Well for what we are paying her, she had better start turning this around. Sally is killing us in Iowa" she placed the jar on the nightstand by the bed.

"I know. Look can we not talk about this tonight? I've had a long day, I just want to take a shower and sleep for as long as I can" Fitz stared at her sitting on the bed, wondering again what she wanted.

"Sure, but I want to meet her. See if she lives up to all the hype" Mellie said.

She was resentful that Fitz and Cyrus had decided to bring in an outsider to help with the campaign while she languished in the Governors mansion. Top of her class at Harvard and this is what she was relegated to.

She had been excited when Fitz had followed in his fathers footsteps and decided to run for President. Her excitement was short lived however when she realized that Fitz and Cyrus had no intention of letting her help with the campaign planning and strategy.

Fitz sighed stopped undressing and looked at his wife leaning against the headboard.

"Fine Mellie, is there anything else you wanted?" he asked

She paused "No... goodnight Fitz"

Mellie watched as he wearily stood up and headed toward the master bath. She picked up the jar where she had left it ; got off the bed and headed towards her bedroom.

Fitz and her had given up the pretense of sharing a marital bed a few years back. He had put in little protest when she had suggested the separate rooms and had even seemed…happy about the idea.

They had had a good sex life when they had first gotten together, but things had changed and Mellie found it impossible to enjoy having sex with him anymore. At first, she had co-opted the usual excuses from wives around the world, she was tired, she wasn't in the mood…she was on her period, but Fitz wasn't a stupid man; he had finally stopped trying after a year of steady rejection.

That had been seven years ago. Occasionally guilt would creep in on how she kept him trapped in a sexless marriage and she thought about giving him the divorce he desperately wanted….but no.

She had worked to hard and too long to get him into the upper echelons of politics and she deserved to be in the White House by his side. She had no intention of leaving this marriage, until it gave her everything she had worked so hard and sacrificed for. Then and only then, would he be free.

* * *

"Its them Cy" Olivia walked into Cyrus office at Campaign HQ

"Who?"

"Mellie and Fitz; Fitz and Mellie. Their tanking us" she threw the focus group data she had just received on the table in front of Cy.

"Every photo shoot, interview,... plays bad" she sighed and rubbed her forehead. " They don't like each other and it shows"

Cyrus looked over the data Olivia had put in front of them absorbing the pertinent facts "Ah!.so what do we do here Liv?"

"We have to get them to do what every other political couple does in Washington, pretend to be in a happy marriage! They've been in political arena for years and married for even longer…. shouldn't they be better at faking this!?

Cyrus picked up the phone and called his assistant into the office.

"Jeannine, we need to pause the campaign for the next two days"

"Three days" Olivia interrupted.

"We need to cancel the campaign stops for the next three days for both the Governor and Mrs. Grant, take care of it"

Jeannine stared at Cyrus mystified. "Cyrus…."

Cyrus raised his hand "This is not a request Jeannine, make it happen"

Looking at the expression on his face, she nodded and hurriedly exited the room.

Olivia looked at Cy, "Can you get them here tonight? we can start tomorrow morning."

"They will be here, leave it to me" Cyrus said already picking up the phone.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but why in the hell would you cancel our stops without consulting us?" Mellie asked.

Fitz, Mellie, Cyrus and Olivia were in the Grants home in the Governors living room. Cyrus and Olivia had spent all night brainstorming on how to fix the optics of the Grants marriage, and they had a solid plan.

Cyrus spoke first "Mellie, Fitz" He stood up and walked over to the ornate fireplace.

"We've made significant gains with women, moderates, minorities…. the strategy is working well; however, we have a new issue we need to deal with…" Cy paused and looked at Liv.

Following his subliminal cue, Mellie and Fitz turned their attention to Olivia.

"It's you…both of you, to be blunt, you're tanking us" she sat still, letting them process her statement

"Excuse me?" Fitz said not following

"The two of you look miserable. People do not want to vote for a president who looks like he is in a loveless, cold marriage" she said

Mellie stood "Now wait just a minute, we hired you to help us win the Presidential Primaries not to tell us…."

Olivia interrupted "Believe me when I tell you Mellie, that this is not a conversation I want to have with either one of you, but the fact that remains that the American people value good marriages. That's true across both party lines and whenever the two of you are in the room together the animus is palpable and that is hurting us"

Olivia rose from the sofa where she had been seated "Quite frankly, this is a conversation that I should not be having with people who have been married and been in politics as long as you have"

"Well, I think I am doing a pretty good job on my part, talk to fly boy" Mellie hissed glaring at Fitz.

"No one is saying anyone is doing a bad job with anything" Cy stated "We do however need to start scheduling the two of you on more stops together and then we need to see happy marriage on your faces when this happens"

"Tell him" Mellie reiterated in the same hostile tone.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Fitz who was staring at the floor. The silence from the governor stretched to an uncomfortably long time. He finally responded.

"Fine, but make sure it on stops close to home. Limit the time we have to spend together"

The room was silent as governor Grant walked out the room hands in pocket.

"Just a little ray of sunshine, my hubby" Mellie sneered and stomped out the room.

Olivia and Cyrus stared at each other, both not holding out much hope on the Governor and his wife's ability to fake anything akin to love for each other.

* * *

 **Three days later...**

The Grants were trying. Olivia and Cy's intervention seemed to have somewhat worked. They were currently having dinner together with the volunteer firefighters in the small community of Wyie, IA.

They had been brushing against each other since arriving at the firehouse and were holding hands whenever possible.

It was a convincing performance and seemed to be playing well to its intended audience.

Cyrus walked over "Its working Liv, I just heard the fire department dispatch lady mentioned how cute they look together!".

"It's a start, but they still missing something…." Liv said looking on as Mellie forked a pepper from her lunch plate and fed it to her husband.

* * *

"So, how'd we do?" Olivia looked up to find the governor nursing a drink leaning on her door frame.

Olivia had decided to stay late at HQ to go over speaking points she would be forwarding to the campaign talking heads for the Sunday morning shows. Cyrus and the governor were still in the building when she had come into her office, but she had heard the front door lock almost an hour earlier and she had assumed she was alone.

"Where's Cy?" she asked leaning back on her chair.

"He left, he has a date with somebody named James" He pushed himself off the wall with his broad shoulders and strolled into the room. "I gotta tell you it's a little disconcerting to see Cyrus, the king maker, excited about a date"

Olivia smiled "good for him, he deserves a night out". Feeling the same atmosphere change in the room as it always did when they were alone together, she asked

"Did you need anything governor?"

"Why do you call me that?" he said quietly.

"I call you that because you're the governor of California" she responded.

"Don't play dumb, you know what I'm talking about" he reached and pulled out one of the two chairs facing her workspace and plopped down with a heavy sigh "Most everyone on the campaign calls me Fitz, your one of the few holdouts who still call _"Governor"_ he lifted his glass and took a sip of whatever he was drinking.

"Well that's inappropriate" Olivia responded "They shouldn't be calling you that".

"Say my name Olivia" he said and took another sip of his drink

"I already said that it would be inappropriate for me to do so"she reiterated

"So, by all means, lets be inappropriate" he said smirking.

"Governor…." He winced exaggeratedly as she said it again. "You've been drinking and I have been working too long so how about we call it a night?"

She shut down her computer and reached for her messenger bag that she had placed in the chair behind her. She busied herself packing her laptop and pocket book paraphernalia hoping that he would take the hint and leave. It didn't work.

Once she had everything together she put on her light sweater and smiled at the governor still seated on the chair.

"Ready to walk out?" She asked with exaggerated perkiness. _Keep the situation light Olivia._

The governor finished his drink with one quick gulp and stood up. Glad that he had finally taken the hint she led the way out of her office stopping a hair away from the door to shut of the lights. As soon as the room was dark she placed her had on the handle and pulled the door half open before a strong forearm reached out and forcefully shut the door.

"You never answered me"

"Governor"

"Mellie and I, how did we do, think we convinced everyone?" He was standing close to her. She swore she could feel the heat pouring off his body.

"It was a good start, there is more work to be done, but we can get into the details tomorrow" she responded still facing the door.

"What you mean that you want us to do more?" he asked. She could smell the bourbon on his breath.

"Governor, we can discuss this tomorrow" she repeated again

"No let's discuss this now" he reached around her and turned the lights back on

"See because I think we did a pretty good job today, but for some reason it did not meet your exacting standards and I now have to spend more time with Mellie, which if you knew anything about me, is about as close to hell as I can get"

"I'm not discussing this with you when you've been drinking. Like I said, you did fine, but we still need to tweak the optics a little more" Olivia felt herself getting angry.

"Be specific, what do you want from us?"

"I already said I will get into detail with you tomorrow morning..." she started to say yet again and he abruptly cut her off

"I want to talk about it now"

"I don't"

"Too fucking bad you work for me, I am your boss. Tell me Now!" his voice was raised. The anger rose, she knew she shouldn't respond but her ire was up and nothing could have stopped her from dressing him down. _Who did he think he was?!_

"Fine, you want to discuss this now, we will. The two of you look like you don't fuck" she said. His reaction was immediate and he pulled back shocked by her coarse language.

"I have two very attractive people, one of whom is running for public office and the two of you together have zero chemistry! Now, I might have been able to downplay this with any other candidate and their respective spouse, but I can't do that with Ken and Barbie! If Ken and Barbie are the candidates they need to be fucking, they need to be hot to trot, or at least be good enough to fake it!"

She stopped out of breath and realized that she had been yelling due to the sudden silence. She willed herself to calm down by taking a deep breath.

"Today's performance was amateurish at best. It only worked because we were in Wyie, IA. It is not good enough for the national stage" she signed rubbing her temples. "We need to do better or the press will smell blood in the water and go in for the kill".

He looked at her for a minute silent

"Well, I guess I asked"

"Governor…"

"I don't want to sleep with her, I haven't slept with her for seven years"

Olivia drew in a breath "Governor, this is really isn't any of my business…."

He laughed out loud "You just told me to go before the American public and act like I want to fuck my wife, I think it's fair to say this is your business"

The room fell silent. Olivia had been staring at her feet while he spoke but she lifted her gaze when he fell silent.

"I don't want her" he said looking her in the eye "I want …. you…"


	2. Chapter 2 - The Campaign

" _Anything I should know about?"_

 _Every head in the room turned in tandem._

 _Fitz stared at the blank expressions staring back at him. He tried to read their expressions but got nothing. He knew they had been discussing him as he had heard name while approaching the door._

 _They continued staring at him expressionless. Any other room of people would have been fidgeting, hiding their faces to conceal the guilt and or embarrassment of having the person being discussed unexpectedly enter a room. The players in this room revealed nothing. There was not a tell to be found on any face. The atmosphere in the room did change, more secretive, but there wasn't a tell among all the participants seated around the table at the dining room in Governors California residence. Mellie, Verna, Cyrus, Olivia and Hollis were for lack of better expression ruthless, political operatives and would never have a tell. Catch them at the scene of a murder covered in blood with the murder weapon …. there would be no tell._

" _Fitz" Cyrus stood, recovering the quickest. "We were just going over the NH primaries projections, didn't see any point in interrupting your call with the kids"._

 _Fitz knowing this was not the truth decided not to push the issue…. for now._

" _Fine, I need to know what the plan is with the Mellie and Paul Mosely story" Fitz said. Olivia quickly stood along with Cyrus Beene, his campaign manager._

" _We've come up with something. Cy and I can go over the details with you"_

 _XXXX_

* * *

"So, what do the numbers look like?" Fitz asked staring at Olivia and Cyrus as the followed him into his office.

"Pardon?" Cyrus stared at him blankly.

"The NH primaries? That's what you were discussing when I walked in right?" Fitz asked casually, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice.

Cyrus quickly recovered "Yes, well they were right where we needed them to be until news of the affair broke" he stated "we are going to lose NH if we don't get ahead of this" he wanted to add on a few choice words to describe the governors' wife, but he knew better.

"I have my people working on it" Olivia chimed in "for some reason Mosely is not denying the affair outright so my guess is that this is a move from Sally"

"Could it be Reston?" Fitz asked

"It's not. If Reston had this kind of dirt, he would have saved it until you were officially on the ticket. It wouldn't be a smart move for his camp to release this now. This is Sally. You're up five points, this is their response to that" Olivia would have bet anything Billy Chambers was behind the story.

"We _were_ up five points, kiss that goodbye unless we can kill this rumor of the affair between Mosely and Mellie" Fitz said

"Like I said, I have my people working on it" Olivia reiterated.

As if on cue, one of her Investigators Harrison Wright walked in.

"You were right, the story of the affair is from Sally's camp. They asked Mosely to not deny the affair. Billy Chambers approached him a month ago and threatened to release some incriminating evidence they found on our friend Paul Mosely." Harrison said handing over the file.

Cyrus and Olivia reached for the file at the same time, but she was quicker.

"Where did you get the information?" Cy asked

"From the man himself" Harrison smiled. "Our Mr. Mosely has somewhat of a …. checkered past that involved him directing and unfortunately starring in what can only be described as disturbing foot fetish pornography"

"What!" Olivia, Fitz and Cy whipped their heads to stare at Harrison astounded

"You lie!" Cy added "He looked so…buttoned up!" a chuckle escaped him as he pictured the straight-laced Paul Mosely engaging in anything...Kinky.

"No, unfortunately for him, I do not. The distinguished Mr. Mosely, fondly remembered by his former porn stars as freak-a-foot, spent approximately 2 years working in early 70's working in the fetish adult film industry sucking every toe within a five-mile radius of Red-Light Adult Studios in Burbank, CA" Harrison finished bemused.

"This is great!" Cyrus said. He jumped up grabbed the folder out of Olivia's fingers and started heading out the door.

"Cy wait! We have to discuss our next move!" Olivia yelled to his back.

Cyrus walked speedily back into the room.

"Our next move? Our next move?! ha! our next move, Liv is to blackmail this asshole into denying the affair and then leaking the story about the abortion as a countermeasure" Cyrus growled out, looking positively feral.

"Cyrus no! I told you we are taking the high road on Cassidy's abortion. It's a non-starter we are not leaking it" Olivia stated firmly ignoring Cyrus's angry glare.

"Olivia is right Cy, I have already told you that I don't want to win that way" Fitz added backing Olivia's decision.

"I do agree, we need to have Paul Mosely go on the air and deny the affair" Olivia turned back to Harrison.

"Do you have his number? Get him on the line" she directed Harrison to use the phone on the governor's desk.

The phone rung twice before he picked up. Cyrus walked up and pushed the speaker button on the phone.

"Harrison, is that you?" a harangued voice came through the speakers and echoed in the office.

"Mr. Mosely, this is Olivia Pope calling from Grant HQ, I understand you had a conversation with my colleague Mr. Wright this morning?"

"Yes…. Look Ms. Pope, I was going to deny the affair, but the Langston people threatened me…." the man was obviously flustered and in distress, so she cut him off.

"I am sure they did, Mr. Mosely" she pulled the phone closer to where she sat. "Mr. Mosely were you dealing with a gentleman by the name of Billy Chambers?"

"Yes, he came to my office…" She knew Billy was behind the scheme, but verbal confirmation never hurt. She interrupted him again.

"Okay, Mr. Mosely…Paul. I can appreciate your distress with the threat of having the Red-Light Studio Videos released so I want to assure you that I will personally take care of making sure that never happens. In exchange I need you to start calling back all the reporters, that have been banging down your door and blowing up your phone to deny the affair with Mellie Grant, understood?"

"How do I know you will not turn it around and use the tapes against me" he asked.

"Because I don't want anything from you Paul. Langston's team needs you to _not_ deny the affair. We however don't give a damn about the tapes, we're the safer bet for you. We are only asking you to tell the truth" she answered.

"Yes, but…."

"Paul, I'm afraid there has been a mistake on my part. I have mistakenly presented this to you as a request and not as a directive. Let me correct that right now. You _will_ call every reporter that has contacted you within the last 24 hours and deny the affair"

She stood leaned forward on the desk getting up and close and personal with the phone.

"If you don't, I will shelve all the responsibilities I have and focus my considerable talents and imagination into turning you into a national laughing stock. I will ruin you, from the ground up, and when I am done even your mother will be telling her friends at the knitting guild that she doesn't know who you are. That kind of commitment from me would require me to focus on you intensely Paul, do you want me focusing on you Paul?"

The room was silent as they waited for Paul to respond to Olivia's threat. After the silence stretched, Olivia decide to throw the poor guy a life raft.

"I give you my personal assurance that the tapes will not be released. I will take care of that. All I need you to do is go in front of a camera and deny the affair, leave everything to me. Quid pro quo Paul, take care of me and I will take care of you"

The line remained silent and Olivia controlled her anger and spoke to the obviously frightened man again

"Paul you've now had a chance to deal with Billy Chambers and me. What's your gut telling you?" she asked confidently.

"I'll start calling the reporters" Paul said resignedly.

"Thank you, Paul, you have a great day!" she pushed the disconnect button and turned to Cyrus

"This is what we use the abortion for. Call Billy Chambers and let him know that if the Mosely tapes go public we will leak the abortion" Olivia felt good about the plan. "We wouldn't but they don't know that, agreed?" she asked. Harrison nodded.

She made eye contact Cyrus and cocked her head, he was reticent to give up the abortion opposition research, but he nodded acquiescing. She turned to Fitz, posing the question with raised eyebrows.

He looked at her for a beat before turning to Cyrus and Harrison.

"Olivia and I need the room"

* * *

 **Eight months earlier….**

Olivia had managed to avoid the governor since their awkward late-night encounter a week earlier. After he admitted his attraction to her she had pushed him back, grabbed the door handle and ran out of HQ like the devil was on her heels. She didn't want to deal with his disconcerting revelation.

If she was honest with herself the confession had not come as a surprise. She had joined the campaign four months ago and during the time, there had been plenty of signs, hints of the burgeoning attraction between them. Every accidental touch caused them to jump back from each other as if hit by a freak electrical current.

She thought of all the times she had worked from home, because she knew Cyrus wouldn't be in the office and she needed him as a buffer to stop her from, what …she wasn't sure…

The late nights she woke up sweating after dreaming about him putting his hands on her. Yesterday, they had both been at the coffee station pouring coffee when she had caught sight of his hands and been so distracted she burnt her hand by over-pouring her coffee. She had been thinking about the possibilities her late-night fantasies revealed to her. Oh, the things those large hands made her feel in her dreams…

There were the times every hair on the back on her neck stood and she knew he was in the room looking at her. On the few occasions her gaze caught his, she felt singed from the heat of that gaze. It was never coarse; his eyes didn't travel down taking inventory as with most men trying to convey interest. No, Fitz maintained steady eye contact until someone or something broke his focus…. those looks had sent her to the bathroom many a time to splash cold water on her face; a useless effort to cool down. She swore if she had a thermometer and took her temperature before and after those looks…

There was also the fact that she had gone back on the pill about two months after settling in CA. She wasn't dating. She hadn't been on a date for over two years. However, two months ago she had asked her friend Quinn Perkins, in the campaign office to recommend a good OB/GYN and she had now been on the pill for two months….

There was no use denying it. She wanted him...and apparently the feeling was mutual.

* * *

Fitz was very aware that Olivia was avoiding him. He should have had a problem with her considerable efforts to evade him, but he didn't.

No Ms. Pope's truly admirable efforts at eluding to be alone with him only confirmed what he already knew to be true. Olivia was just as attracted to him as he was to her. It wasn't an observation based on arrogance but on cues provided by the captivating Ms. Pope herself.

He had done his best to rid himself of the attraction, but after a while gave up the futile effort. He wanted her plain and simple.

Fitz spent his days planning and choreographing how to get to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue so he could fulfill some of the promises he made to the good citizens he met along the campaign trail.

However, his nights were spent on an entirely different strategy. His nights were now soley dedicated on how to get Ms. Pope naked and under him as soon as possible.

He looked across the office where she stood talking to another one of his campaign aides Quinn Perkins. The two had become fast friends and he noticed they spent considerable time together.

He also knew that Olivia had enlisted Quinn into the de facto army she had been building with his office staff as a defense from being alone with him.

He watched as they separated and headed to their separate spaces to grab their coats and pocket books to head out for the day.

The privacy glass on his office allowed him to watch her without her knowing. Olivia rushed to her desk, quickly raised her head to look toward his office and then grabbed her stuff and quickly headed toward the door to presumably meet Quinn at the front door.

He watched her walk out with a predatory smile. He could be patient. Everything was coming together….


	3. Chapter 3 - The First Time

**The next day….**

"Olivia, can I see you in my office before you leave?"

She had been hastily headed toward the exit when his voice stopped her. They had received new polling numbers earlier in the day and she had been so engrossed in her review, she hadn't realized everyone had left for the day.

When she had lifted her head up from the figures, the sky outside was dark and the only other light left on in the building was coming from _his_ office _. S_ he had cursed under her breath and tried to make a run for the door without running into him but she had been shit out of luck, he had seen her dashing for the exit.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to see the governor standing at the open door of his office; his hands were in his pockets and he was looking at her across the expansive office space they were renting for the Grant Presidential Campaign HQ.

"I was just leaving for the night, is it something we can table and discuss tomorrow?" _please let it be something we can discuss tomorrow, please!_

"No, I want to see you in my office now" he turned around walking disappearing into the office leaving her standing there trying to get her feet to move towards the door…that door.

 _Suck it up! This is your boss. He would like to speak to you so… go in there and handle yourself like the competent hardworking kick ass bitch you are._

Gathering her nerve, she made her way to his office and found him leaning against his desk, arms crossed at his chest and legs crossed at his ankles. The fabric from his trousers stretched over his muscular thighs and she quietly gave herself a pat on the back for not giving into the urge to look at those strong thighs and…everything in between.

"Come in and close the door behind you" he said quietly. She took a step to cross the threshold, but her foot froze halfway unable to complete the motion. It was as if the door had become some imaginary line, a border that stopped her from going somewhere she wasn't ready to go. She just knew if she stepped in everything would change.

"Is there a problem, Olivia?" She looked up. The governor gazed at her looking…amused? He stared pointedly at her, seemingly issuing a challenge. He knew why she was hesitating and was issuing a challenge. Daring her to cross that line.

Never one to back down from a challenge, she straightened her spine cockily and confidently strode into the office shutting the door. Once in she stood and said with false poise

"What can I help you with governor?" she met his gaze steadfastly. Her anxiety was soaring, but she would be damned if she would let him see her sweat.

He smiled "Cyrus said you want Mellie and I to make more combined campaign stops together?"

 _Oh, thank god! She thought, feeling waves of relief. He wants to talk about the campaign!_

"Umm…, Yes. The two of you are rarely seen together and that is starting to raise some eyebrows. You're a married candidate. Mellie, your marriage, the kids…they all need to be part of the face of the campaign. You're a happily married family man, we should use that to our advantage" she said

Olivia was startled as the governor let out a sudden burst of laughter.

"Happily married family man…" he repeated, bemused.

Olivia instantly regretted the turn of phrase she had used to describe the Grant's marriage. Anybody who spent more than five seconds in a room with Mellie and Fitz knew there was no love lost between the couple. Frankly the only time they seemed to get along was when their two children, Jerry and Karen were in the room.

"Why have been avoiding me.?" he said quickly changing the subject.

"What? Governor…I don't…" she stuttered startled by the question. The speed with which he had changed the subject left her feeling like she had a case of whiplash.

"Why. Are. You. Avoiding. Me?" he repeated deliberately. He was still as he stood staring at her waiting for a response.

She stood frozen. She wasn't ready to confront _this_ , to talk about _this_ right now. This was a blitz attack when her defenses were down. She returned his gaze unable to look away and saw something undiscernible flashing behind those steel blue eyes. Huh. Did he think this was a game? Was he trying to throw her off kilter and see if she would cut and run or stay and face him head on? _Well Governor, she thought to herself, bring it on_

"I'm not avoiding you" she responded forcing herself to not look away from his intense scrutiny.

He suddenly rose from the desk and she instinctively took a step back. She instantly regretted doing so when she saw him smirk.

"I think you are, and I think I have a pretty good idea why, no scratch that, I know why you're avoiding me Olivia. I just want to see if you had the balls to be honest with me and say it out loud" he started to walk towards her and she forced herself to keep her feet planted exactly where they were.

"Governor, I'm sorry you feel that I haven't been paying you the necessary attention, I was busy doing my job. You know fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote…. you know all the things I'm supposed to be doing as one of your campaign managers" she stated harshly.

"However, if you think that I need to push aside those responsibilities to cater to your constant need for attention, let me know and I can adjust my schedule accordingly" she snidely added.

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them from tumbling out.

Fitz slowly walked over to her, never breaking eye contact. The effort to not run out of the room was starting to wear her down. He stopped with a hairs breadth of her.

"Chicken shit" he said softly

She stood astounded

"excuse me?" she said, confused.

"This is the best you can come up with to try and fend me off and deny that your attracted to me? I'm disappointed in you Olivia" he smirked

She felt the anger boiling up inside her

"Of all the arrogant…look Governor, I know that looking the way you look and being who you are means that women are constantly throwing themselves at you and are considered easy acquisitions, but let me dissuade you of any notion that I might be one of them. I have no interest in joining the ranks of the befouled women you have undoubtedly bedded all along the California coast. I am your campaign manager not some easy conquest to be had. Now if you can't respect that, let me know and I will kindly have my signed resignation letter on your desk first thing tomorrow morning" she was practically spewing live flames when she was done.

The governor stood in front of her silently contemplating her.

"Fitz" he finally uttered.

"What?" she asked confused

"If I'm reading this whole situation wrong, and believe me Liv I know I'm not, then say my name. I dare you. Call me Fitz" he said

"I have already told you…." she started to respond but he quickly interrupted her.

"We work together Liv, Yes I'm your boss but millions of people around the world call their boss by name. So, stand there, look me in the eye and say my name" he challenged her.

"I don't understand why I need to…." Her heart raced as she looked at him staring at her defiantly as he issued the challenge.

"Say it Liv, say my name" he repeated, unwilling to let the issue drop. Not when the stakes were this high. Fitz was on a mission to get what he wanted

"I can't just…." He was standing too close. She couldn't pinpoint when it had happened but the tension in the room had changed to something very sexual.

"What Livvie? what can't you do?" he moved closer, his shirt now brushing against her blouse.

"I can't...we can't…." Remnants of his expensive aftershave tickled her senses adding to the sexual fog he was enveloping her in.

"We can't what Livvie?" he reached out grabbed her upper arms and pulled her forward flush against his body arms and bringing her flush against his hard body.

"What can't we do Livvie?" he reached down and put a hand under her chin to lift her gaze to his "What can't we do?" he asked again

His head descended and his lips lightly grazed hers.

"Is this what we can't do Livvie?"

Her senses were on overload. She had braced herself on his biceps when he had pulled her into him and she could feel the tension in his muscles as she gripped them. She tried to move her gaze away from his but…couldn't. It was like being trapped in a forcefield that ensnared you and wouldn't allow you to look away.

"Governor…" she started, trying to recover some of her reeling senses; to stop this before it went too far.

"Livvie…." his lips brushed against hers again "Liv…say my name, I can't kiss you unless you say my name"

He moved his head brushing his lips down her check and down into her neck, without hesitation she lifted her head providing him better access.

"Say my name Liv…."

"Fitz…" she gave in and finally whispered his name "Fitz…"

He moved back up to her neck, back over her cheek and brushed her lips again.

"Say it again"

"Fitz"

They were both done with the pretense. The attraction was too strong. There was no need to repudiate it any more.

Fitz gently gripped her face and brought his mouth down hard on hers. The hard pressure worked as he intended and she opened her mouth to ease the pressure allowing him to push his tongue into her exquisite mouth. Those lips, he had dreamed countless nights of that pouty mouth and now he was in; licking and tasting, taking everything, he had wanted for months.

He felt it. The moment she stopped fighting him and gave into the madness they had been fighting for four months.

"Fitz" she whispered his name again spontaneously without prompt, and that was all it took. He felt himself catch on fire.

The kiss quickly transformed. He deepened the kiss his mouth moving roughly over hers, barely pausing to draw breathes and she eagerly returned his passion. She moved her hands from his biceps and flung both her arms around his neck.

He moved his hands from where they cupped her face, run them down her neck down the front of her the thin material of her black silk top. He paused when he got to her breasts feeling the tiny ha pebbles of her nipples eagerly pushing into his palms. He longed to feel them without any barriers in between. He moved down, running his hands along her waist, down her hips and finally moved his large hands to her back to palm that beautiful ass.

He spent some time there appreciating the roundness, before placing them beneath her bottom and lifting her off her feet. He turned and quickly walked her back to the desk, roughly placing her on top, his mouth never lifting off hers, never breaking the rough kiss. He tried stepping in between her legs, but her skirt hampered him. He impatiently grabbed the hem and pushed it up until he had enough room to step in between her thighs.

Olivia was lost. Fitz had cast some kind of spell on her. She felt him lift up her skirt and a small logical part of her brain knew she shouldn't let him, but logic was quickly forgotten and she opened her legs to let him in. She wanted to let him in anywhere, everywhere he wanted.

Fitz quickly took advantage of her cooperation, bending his knees lightly and pulling her to the edge of the desk. He quickly aligned her soft mound with his cock that felt close to bursting out of his now confining trousers.

Olivia moaned. The hard pressure was right where she needed it. She whimpered into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck using them to provide her with enough ballast to push her hips off the desk and rub herself against him.

 _There, there._ If she could have floated out of her body to look at the scene unfolding she would have been mortified. Her skirt pulled up around her waist, her arms locked around his neck to help her move against that wonderfully hard hibulge and her hips moving wantonly against it, searching, demanding satisfaction. In the moment though, she didn't care.

Fitz hadn't intended for things to move this quickly, but as soon as he had her on the desk and her skirt up around her waist, Olivia had grabbed a hold of his neck attached herself to him like a limpet and began riding his cock in a steady rhythm that had sent all the blood rushing down in milliseconds. This was not how he had intended to make his move on Olivia, on his desk …he had wanted so much more, better than this.

"Yes, yes" Her sexy moan broke through his thoughts. Olivia head thrown back her eyes closed, as she rode him through their clothes. He felt his control slipping…

"Olivia…fuck, wait baby…" Fitz growled through clenched teeth. Holding onto control with the slimmest of threads

"Baby we have to stop…I didn't want to do this here…" he grabbed her hips in a half-hearted attempt to stop the rapid-fire movement of her hips, but gave up to watch the sexy movement as she circled her pussy around his cock trying to get herself off. Fuck, yeah.

"No!" she was too close… she couldn't stop. The wave was coming, she could feel it in every nerve in her body. She wrapped her legs around him in a death grip and rode that wonderful hard ridge chasing the tsunami sized orgasm she felt bearing down on her at the speed of light. She was going to come. Hard. Nothing could stop it…nothing….

"Fuuuck!" A tight subdued scream tore through her throat and lightbulbs flashed behind her closed eyes. Wave upon wave of pleasure rocked through her body leaving her broken on the shore.

Fitz groaned through gritted teeth and rasped out her name "Livvie…"

He was on a hair trigger. The woman of his dreams had just used him, rode him into an explosive climax and he didn't think he had ever seen anything so incredible in his life. He couldn't believe he had had enough control to not come in his trousers. It had taken every ounce of energy to not give in and go over the edge with her.

Olivia's slowly came back to her senses.

OH MY GOD, WHAT DID I JUST DO!

Cooling passion quickly transformed into a mortification she did not think she could survive. She couldn't believe it. She had just jumped on her boss and dry humped him on his office desk!

Her boss! The freaking married governor of the state of Cali-fucking-fornia! Shit!

She pushed him off her, jumped off the desk on weak knees and quickly pushed her skirt down. The focus she had used a minute ago to get herself off, was now was directed at getting herself out of his presence as soon as possible.

"Liv"

"No don't say a fucking word! Shut up!" she looked around the room, panicking where was her purse? It had her car keys, she needed her purse!

"Livvie, we need to talk about this" Fitz said ignoring her request for silence

"Fitz, I need you to not talk to me right now, please, I'm begging you. I just…I need to go home and get my thoughts together…just please" her voice broke on the last plea. Her back was turned to him, she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

Fitz wanted to argue. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders take her home, put her in bed and spend the next few hours pushing out all the regrets she was undoubtedly feeling out of her head by clouding them with hours of pleasure.

However, something in her voice stopped him. He spotted her bag under the desk corner. He walked over to where she had retreated after pushing him off her and handed it to her. She reached out with her hand to grab the bag still refusing to look him in the eyes.

She grabbed the bag out of his hands, rushed to the shut door, threw it open and run out of the office.

Fitz watched her run out the door

"Don't think we're not going to talk about this later, Livvie" he yelled out to her retreating back.

He turned back around and looked at his office. Papers strewn all over the floor where they had fallen. He bent down to methodically pick them up so he could head home and take the coldest shower he ever had in his life. It was going to be a long night.


	4. Chapter 4 - Her Apartment

Chapter 4

"Olivia…Liv?" Abby's voice rang out from the hallway of her loft apartment.

Shit. She wasn't ready to see anybody. She had _"the flu"_ and had been away from the office now for three days. She was surprised that Abby had come over to see her considering how much of a germaphobe she was. It was part of the reason she had concocted the flu as an excuse to get her out of work…and life.

The bedroom door opened and she turned to see Abby holding a bag of food from one of the local chain restaurants.

"How sick are you?" Abbie asked, assessing her as if trying to gauge if she loved her enough to attempt physical contact.

"Very, I'm at death's door. Leave before you catch it, its highly contagious" Olivia crossed her fingers and hoped that Abby's neurosis about getting any sort of ailment would propel her out the front door.

"Your faking it!" Well there goes that, Olivia thought

"I'm in a wicked bad mood Abby, so unless you are willing to deal with def con level 5 bitchiness, I suggest you leave" she warned. She knew it wouldn't work with Abby, but it was worth a try. Abby walked into the room and she sighed. "Why are you faking? What's going on? Should I be worried?" the questions were hurled at her without a pause in between to give her a chance to respond. Typical Abby.

She sat on down on the bed, placed the bag of food down on the bed and stared at Liv, waiting for a response to her myriad of questions.

Olivia sighed "Yes, No and No"

"What?" Abby asked

"Yes, I am faking the flu, no there is nothing going on and no you should definitely not be worried. I am fine, I just need some time off" she lied

"Bullshit" Abby responded

"You never take time off. You took your laptop and phone with you when we went to the Bahamas. You we're writing drafts of oral arguments on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world"

Abby stood, grabbed the bag of food of the floor and turned to Olivia lying on the bed.

"I am going to heat this up, and then you and I are going to seat on the couch and talk about whatever's bothering you. What time is it?" she asked looking around the room for a clock.

Olivia turned over and looked at her bedside clock.

"1:15pm why?" she asked curious.

Abby smiled and answered

"Wine"

* * *

"Is Olivia still out sick?" Fitz asked Cyrus as they sat down in the darkened conference room waiting for Quinn to cue and play the latest advertisements for the campaign. Fitz, Cyrus and Olivia usually reviewed the ads together before they went live, but Liv had been out sick for the last three days and they couldn't hold off any longer. The commercials needed to be playing out in the market, influencing voters.

"No, the flu must have hit her bad. I've seen her drag herself to work while on her death bed" Cyrus said as he pored over the drafts of the latest print ads.

"I'm planning on dropping by on my way home to see is she's okay" he added.

Fitz processed the information and a plan sprung to mind.

"Are you not attending the CJA awards with James?" Fitz asked referring to a local journalism awards banquet, Cyrus had mentioned his new boyfriend James wanted to attend. He hoped the question came across as casually as he intended it to.

"Yes, we were supposed to go, but I have to check on Liv, something's not right" he responded a frown creasing his brow.

"Where does she live?"

"At the downtown Vienna Lofts" Cy responded. Fitz nodded distracted, he knew the building. It was nice, very upscale.

"Here we go" Quinn said interrupting the conversation. The two men turned to the large screen at in the conference room and watched the first ad.

The ads were good. The usual political fare. Attack your opponents voting record on a few key issues, American flag flying in the background and the usual array of different ethnicities smiling into the camera agreeing that Grant was the best candidate.

Same old, same old. They watched three more commercials, each one tweaked to accommodate nuances of the demographic it was intended for. Whey they had watched all the commercials they approved the release of three out of the four. They pulled the last one, as Cy felt it needed a few edits before it was ready for the open market.

Quinn took down their notes and comments for each commercial and left the room to talk to the media company generating the ads.

"Why don't I go check on her tonight and then you and James can go the awards show" Fitz said, swiveling his chair to face Cy.

Still distracted by the print ads spread out in front of him on the conference table. He turned to Fitz confused

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked his mind faraway.

"Olivia. I will go check on her tonight Cy and you can go to the award banquet with James" Fitz repeated

Finally paying attention to what Fitz was saying, Cyrus shook his head

"No, that would be too risky. The last thing we need is a rumor getting out that your sleeping with your campaign manager. James will just have to suck it up" he turned back to the ads honing in on a typo. He picked up the phone and dialed Jeannine at the front desk.

"Jeannine, have Quinn get her butt back in here. I found a typo on one of the prints" he put down the phone without waiting for an affirmation that his barked orders were being followed.

"There is a popular bar and restaurant on the first floor of the Vienna. If anyone spots me they'll think I'm there for dinner or a drink. It will be fine" Fitz told Cyrus

"Go, get yourself out of the doghouse. I know how important James is to you Cy" he added.

Cyrus, turned to look at him" You sure?"

Fitz nodded "it's no problem, Cy. It's practically on my way home"

Cy thought about it for another second "Okay, thanks Fitz"

"Like I said, it's no problem" he responded and made his way out of the conference room, passing Quinn on the way out. "Have fun with James tonight. Hope he wins!"

* * *

"You're really not going to tell me what's going on?"

Abby was seating across from Olivia staring at her trying to figure out what was going on.

"I told you its nothing. I'm just feeling a little run down. We've been hitting the pavement for four months straight and I'm exhausted. This isn't like working at a law firm. It's a whole different ball game and I need down time to get my energy reserves back up" she took a sip of her wine, hoping Abby didn't see through the BS. She tried to play it cool even as the tiny voice inside her head yelled out….

 _Actually, I almost had sex with my boss on his desk; that's right Abby,_ _ **THAT GUY!**_ _you know the one who is MARRIED and is the GOVERNOR OF CALI-FUCKING-FORNIA!_

"Okay Liv" Abby said not breaking eye contact. She knew she was lying but she didn't want to push her friend. Whatever was happening had her…. vulnerable. Wow, now that was a word nobody had never used to describe Olivia Pope.

"You want to watch some TV? "she asked

"No, I'm fine Abby" she smiled at her from across the Sofa and reached out to grab her hand. "Thank you for being my friend, for checking up on me, for feeding me, and for getting me slightly tipsy but I think I just want to be alone right now, hope that's okay Abbs" she smiled.

"Sure, but if you are not back in the office within a day or two well…I'm not going to be so easy to brush off and you are going to tell me what the hell is wrong, deal?"

"Deal. I was actually planning on going in tomorrow" _to hand in my resignation_ she thought to herself, but she wasn't ready to share that.

Abby stood, picked up her pocket book from the side table where she had parked it and walked over to kiss Liv on the cheek.

"Love you Kiddo" she said and walked down the hall toward the front door.

Abby headed toward the front door, worried about her best friend. Liv wasn't the stay at home and wallow type, so she figured whatever had happened had to have been major.

She put her hand on the handle and was just about to pull the door open, when a loud knock reverberated through the loft.

"Who is it?" Olivia yelled from the living room. Who in the hell, would be visiting her 8pm on Thursday night?

Abby looked through the peephole and gasped. She quickly covered her mouth and grinned. It was the sexy governor! She quickly moved to the mirror on the foyer and checked out her appearance. Fuck! She looked terrible!

Wait a minute why in the hell would sex on a stick be visiting Olivia on a Thursday night? Could this have something to do with Olivia's mood?

He knocked on the door again, louder. Abby was mulling this new set of events when Olivia walked around the corner wrapped in her blanket.

"Who is it Abbs?" she asked again, irritated.

Abby looked at the front door and at Olivia and made a split-second decision to let the whatever was going to happen…happen.

She grabbed the door handle and yanked it open.

"Governor Grant" Abby said, sticking out her hand in greeting

"My name is Abby Whelan. I'm a friend of Olivia and I just dropped in to check on her"

"Nice to meet you Abby" he replied, surprised to find a tall statuesque red head answering Olivia's door.

"Is Olivia in?" he asked trying to peer over her to see into the loft.

"Yes, she is" she said sweetly. "Unfortunately, I was headed out the door, but it was nice to meet you governor" Abby said as she slipped by him out of the apartment. She didn't need to turn around and see Liv's face to know that she probably wouldn't be talking to her in near future.

"You too, Abby" she heard as she made her way to the elevator. Holy crap, his voice was so sexy! Too bad he was a Republican.

Olivia was frozen in her hallway. The blanket had fallen off her shoulders as soon as she had heard his deep baritone at her front door.

What in the hell was he doing here. How could Cy do this to her! He was the only one who knew where she lived!

She watched the front door as his tall frame walked in and closed the door behind Abby, who was as of today persona non-grata!

He turned to see her standing in the hallway and smiled softly.

"Hi"

"Hi"


	5. Chapter 5 - What this Was

**Chapter Five**

 **What was…** _ **This…**_

Olivia stared dumbfounded at Fitz, who stood looking back at her from her front foyer.

"Why…what are you doing here?" she stuttered out.

"I'm here to check on you" he said. She watched as Fitz slowly pulled his Jacket off his broad shoulders and hung it at her front door. Once the jacket was off he paused to smile at her before he started walking toward her. She took a step back, his approach seemed and felt …predatory

"I'm here because I'm not going to let you hid from me…from us…from _this_ anymore" he kept moving forward, while she stepped back.

"I'm here because I missed you" her back was now against her sofa. She had run out of room to retreat from him. He stopped in front of her.

"Did you miss me Livvie?" he asked quietly

"Fitz, your married" she stated factually

"I know…tell me you missed me Livvie" he cajoled. His hands were in his pocket and he didn't pull them out as he bent down and kissed her softly on the lips. "Did you miss me?"

"Yes" she startled herself by telling the truth. Honestly, there really was no point in denying it. He could probably see it in her eyes. Read the cues her body was giving him by leaning into him. Plus, fuck it, it was true. She had missed him.

"Are you sick, or did you just stay home for three days to hide from me…from us…from _this_?" he gestured, pointing at her then back at himself.

"I'm not sick" _What the hell was wrong with her? It was like she had Wonder Woman's lasso of truth wrapped around her and she couldn't lie to him._

He smiled, seemingly happy that she was telling him the truth. He dropped his head again and placed another quick kiss on her lips.

He took his hands out of his pockets and reached for her. She was expecting his touch to be sexual, it wasn't. He simply pulled her into his arms and held her. She was surprised, but quickly recovered to enjoy the moment and wrapped her hands around him, resting her head against his hard chest. All the tension and stress from the last three days slowly began to seep out of her body as she inhaled his familiar comforting cologne; as she felt his steady heartbeat.

They stood wrapped around each other's arms, they didn't speak; but instead experienced a sort of symbiotic exchange of feelings that needed no verbal communication. After several minutes Fitz broke the silence.

"I've been telling myself for the last four months, that I have been fighting an attraction to you; that I had developed some teenage boy like obsession with you and I needed to get over it…but this is not what this is Livvie"

He pulled back, placed a hand under her chin to bring her gaze up to his.

" _This_ is something else, and everything in my mind, body and soul is telling me to not ignore _this_ …whatever it is. So fair warning…I'm not going away"

Fitz had spent the last three days thinking about her non-stop. He knew what _this_ was. _This_ thing…it was… _this_ was love.

He was in love with Olivia Carolyn Pope. However, he didn't say it out loud. There was no way she was ready to hear it. She would probably run out the door at Usain Bolt speeds if he attempted any sort of declaration of love. He had come to realize the confident Ms. Pope was adorably skittish regarding affairs of the heart.

"I want you…" he started to say; She opened her mouth to interrupt but he stopped her with another quick kiss on her beautiful pouty lips. He felt his pulse quicken. _That mouth…mmmhh…_

"Not for sex Livvie, we both know I could have had you in the office on Monday, I want more that that with you" she watched the emotion flicker in his beautiful eyes. A smile broke over his face

"Don't get me wrong, I would give my left foot to be inside you at any given time of the day" he joked. Her blood warmed and pulsed at his provocative words, "but I want more. I'm a selfish asshole Livvie… I want everything, not just your body, I want everything" he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I also want your mind" he kissed her right cheek "I want your soul" he kissed her left cheek "I want your laughter" he nuzzled her neck "I want to know all those secret little things you keep hidden from everyone" he moved and nuzzled the other side of her neck

"I want you to give me everything Olivia Pope" he moved up to her mouth and placed another soft kiss on her lips "…and I want to give you everything back" he kissed her again, a little harder.

"Don't run from me Livvie, stay with me and let's find out what _this_ is together, okay?" he kissed her again, harder still.

Olivia's senses were reeling as Fitz's words and kisses washed over her body

"I wont run" she whispered against his lips

She felt his lips move up in a smile against her lips and he kissed her again. The kisses that had been soft a minute before transformed. She moved her lips apart and his tongue quickly snaked its way in, taking possession of her. Fitz was _very_ good with his mouth and within a minute she was grabbing the back of his neck, pushing into him, trying to climb onto that hard body.

Fitz sensed that the moment was quickly headed the way of their previous office encounter and he quickly pulled back and walked across the room, putting as much distance as he could between them.

Olivia stood where he left her confused, forlorn…. turned on to the max.

"Fitz…what? "she asked and made a move towards him.

"Stay where you are Olivia" she stopped dead in her tracks, her body responding to his authoritative tone.

He put his hands on the back of his head, took a deep breath that sounded shaky and started pacing her living room; which wasn't easy considering his size and the square footage of her living room space. He was trying to grab a hold of what little control he had; which wasn't much.

She couldn't figure out what had just happened. Did he not want her? She looked down at the tented front placket of his trousers. _Scratch that, he wanted her._

"I told you _this_ , whatever it is, is not a just attraction; it's also not just an affair Livvie" he stopped pacing and faced her

"If I sleep with you now, we cheapen it. I want everything Livvie, and that means I have to get to know you and everything about you" he sighed heavily and reached down to adjust and accommodate his growing erection.

He took another deep breath and without a word walked out the room towards the front foyer. She followed him and watched him grab his suit jacket where he had left it on the hook. Stupefied, she watched him shrug it on over his shoulders. What the fuck? was he leaving?!

"Wait a second, do I not get a say on what happens?" she asked incredulously

He turned back around responding to her irate tone.

"I need to leave before this goes to far Livvie" he straightened out the collar of his jacket "We'll get there, but now is not the right moment" Olivia saw red.

"So, let me get this right, I do the right thing and stay away from you for the last three days and you come to my apartment, turn me on to the point of insanity and walk out the door?" _who the hell did he think he was!_

"That's mostly right, only you left out the part where you turn me on too and I do the honorable thing and leave" he responded in turn.

"Fuck honorable, Fitz! Take off the Jacket, come back here and fuck me" she demanded

Fitz heart stopped. Her words washing over him, the erection he had somewhat managed to control roaring back in full steam.

Defiant she walked over to him, grabbed the back of his head and brought his head down and kissed him. She pushed her tongue into his mouth, taking control. She licked and gnawed, stopping occasionally to take a bite of his lips.

Fitz resisted for all of a second, before grabbing a hold of her and returning her passion. He grabbed her hips pulling her into him. He run his hands all over her lush body, his hands overwhelmed by all the places on her body he wanted to touch, kiss, touch, lick…possess…dominate.

 _Stop!_

Reason kicked in at the last minute. His cock was leading him astray again, he needed to stop this. This was not how it was going to go with him and Olivia. He wanted their first time together to be them making love, not fucking in the foyer of her apartment; and there was no doubt that was where they were headed.

"Liv, Livvie…stop; we have to stop" he pulled back. It took considerable effort as Olivia was determined.

"Fitz…, no" she held on to his neck, refusing to let go. Wanton Liv was taking over again like she had in his office and she wanted…oh, the things wanton Liv wanted…

"Livvie, no…stop. Look at me" His firm words broke through her red haze of passion and she looked up at him.

"This is not how we do this, this is not how our first time will be"

She started to argue

"No Livvie" he placed a quick kiss on her lips, grabbed the door handle and made a hasty exit.

Olivia stood at the front door immobile. _What the hell had just happened?_

Her body was on fire. Again, she thought to herself, what kind of game was he playing.

She stood at the door replaying everything that had just happened, and as her body cooled down and she got control of her senses; she thought back on everything he had said to her.

 _He wants to wait until its right, dummy!_ Her inner logical voice broke through the irrationality brought on by passion.

 _It's sweet._ He wanted to wait until it was right.

She thought about it as she walked towards her bedroom turning off the lights in her foyer, living room and hallway lights; she headed for bed.

He wanted to wait. That was sweet.

She stopped at her bedroom door; her eyes narrowed.

Fuck Sweet! Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III had made her feel things she had never felt with anyone in. The man didn't know it, but she was going to get everything she wanted and she wasn't going to wait. She was done waiting.

* * *

It was Saturday night and Mellie and Fitz were having dinner at the Governor's mansion. They rarely ate together, but Fitz had told Mellie that he wanted to speak to her and she had suggested they dine together.

He hadn't seen Liv since their encounter at her loft on Thursday night. He had a campaign stop where he was scheduled to speak with a chapter of a local small business association in the Valley. Cy and not Olivia had been scheduled to go with him to the event so they were away from the office where Olivia was.

He missed her but he also wanted to give her time and space to think about everything he had shared with her at her apartment. _Well, everything he had shared when he hadn't had his tongue shoved down her throat, he thought smiling._

The dinner was cordial, which in itself was a surprise; however, that quickly changed as soon as Fitz spoke

"I want a divorce" he said getting straight to the point. He saw no point in putting it off or trying to sugar coat it. He wanted out.

Mellie's salad filled fork paused on its way to her mouth.

 _Not this shit again_ , she thought mildly irritated. Every few years Fitz got the idea inside his pretty little head of divorcing her and she would systematically, methodically work on get him to change his mind. She blackmailed, threatened sometimes she even pretended to be distraught. Frankly she found the whole process exhausting, but she supposed this was her lot in life. _Political wives carried their burdens in life with poise and decorum,_ she thought to herself smugly.

"No" she said calmly but firmly; and took a bite of the greens that had been hovering mid-air.

"Mellie…" Fitz started.

"Fitz, I am not giving you a divorce, we CAN'T get a divorce, or have you forgotten that you are running for the President of the United States" she asked snidely.

"No Mellie, I haven't forgotten" he responded "However, I am not currently running for President of the United States, I am currently running to be the Republican Candidate. This is the time to do it. It would be messier if we tried to do it while I am running for White House" he said a matter of fact.

Mellie paused looking at him as if he had grown an extra grotesque head.

"I'm sorry…and what exactly am I supposed to be doing while your divorcing me and gallivanting off into the sunset at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?" she asked.

"You can do what you've always wanted Mellie. You can start pursuing your own Political ambitions instead of being some ornament that hangs on my arm, while I pursue my aspirations" he said, hoping to appeal to her long-shelved ambitions of throwing herself into the political arena.

"Victor Talbot is retiring from his Georgia Senate seat next year. You could run and win. Be the senator for your home state" he said laying out a plan, he thought would appeal to her ruthless ambition.

Mellie stared at him stunned into silence. She searched his face. You didn't stay married to someone for twenty years without being able to read them.

He was serious this time, he actually wanted to divorce her….! Never! _over her cold dead rotting carcass!_

"Now you listen here. I have put in too many years and put up with too much shit…" Having heard this rage filled parlance too many times to count, Fitz quickly interrupted her before she got to far into her rant.

"Mellie, I am not asking you; I am telling you; We are getting a divorce" He stood up throwing the table napkin down on the table

"I am done with this … travesty of a marriage! We are through! I've allowed you hold me hostage, and make no mistake Mellie I was _allowing_ you, so that my children could have a semblance of normalcy by having two parents; but I am done" he turned an icy stare at her

"We are getting a divorce, I will give you most of everything you ask for, save for my head on a stake, and in exchange you will give me my freedom and my children. Next year when you run for the Georgia Seat, I will back you and campaign for you" he paused before coolly continuing

"However, if you choose to cross me Mellie…well here is what will happen; I will give you next to nothing. I will leak news of your affair with Andrew Nichols to the press" her eyes widened at the revelation. The bastard knew about the affair.

"That's right Mellie, I know about you and Andrew" Fitz said over again.

He had found out about her affair with Andrew Nichols her former college boyfriend from a private investigator he had hired six years prior when he had thought about ending the marriage. It had been perfect ammunition to get a divorce, but Karen and Jerry had both been under 10 years of age and he knew Mellie would have drawn out the process in a way that would have damaged the kids.

However, the kids were both now in their teenage years. She wouldn't be able to use them to her own ends during a divorce. They were old enough to see through any countermeasures she might use to turn them against him. Last year during a heart to heart conversation with his oldest Jerry, the boy had asked him why he stayed married to his mother. Remembering the conversation, he felt a rush of new anger flow through him. Anger towards not only towards Mellie, but towards himself. He took a deep breath trying to calm down.

"If you do not sign, I am not going to hold back, I will destroy you. I will unleash Cyrus on you and your reputation and we both know when he is done with you will be lucky if you get elected to be head of the PTA. I would like to not do this as you are still the mother of my children and despite your less that admirable efforts at mothering them the kids still love you"

Mellie was quick with her rebuttal "…and what are you, the father of the year?" she asked snidely

"No, I am not Mellie" he responded somberly "I failed them to. I should have fought you harder, when you decided to put them in boarding school. I should have fought you harder when you trapped me into this train wreck we call a marriage; it's over Mellie. We are getting a divorce" he stated firmly. Fitz was surprised at how good it felt saying the words out loud to her. It was almost cathartic.

"I will never sign" she growled out through clenched teeth.

Fitz smiled sadly. This wasn't a surprise. He hadn't expected Mellie to go quietly into the goodnight. It wasn't her style.

"Fine Mellie. You've been warned" Fitz turned and walked out the room, leaving Mellie seething at the table.


	6. Chapter 6 - Let the Games Begin

Chapter 6

New Hampshire…Eight months later…

Recap...back on the campaign trail. Olivia has just requested Paul Mosley deny the affair between him and Mellie….

Before Cy and Harrison had left the room and shut the door, Fitz was on his feet making his way around the desk to Olivia's side.

"Fitz, stop" she said holding up her arms, trying to stop his approach "We've talked about this; we don't do this at HQ anymore, understood?" she said firmly.

He ignored her grabbed her arm and quickly pulled her into his arms. Once he had her against him, he moved his large hands down her sides until he was holding her ass.

"I need my fix" he said huskily and before she could protest, he had her against his body and was kissing her senseless. _I really need to stop being so goddamn easy_ she thought fleetingly, but then he moved his hands back up to cup her breasts and all rational thoughts stampeded out; fighting their way right out of her head.

He broke the kiss and started working his way down her neck. Her nipples pebbled, hardening in response to his caress on her breasts.

"I want you" he whispered into her ear. Her body responded further to his sexy voice. She swore she had an anatomically abnormal nerve that connected from her ear directly down south to her groin. Why else would his voice make her so…wet?

Within seconds she had lost all pretense of sense and had grabbed onto his neck kissing him back like she wanted to eat him alive; and she did…mmhh…

A knock on the door broke through the passionate fog that enveloped them whenever they touched and they reluctantly pulled apart. Fitz laid a quick kiss on her lips "to be continued…" he whispered into her ear

"I'll hold you to that" she winked up at him, smiling.

He walked back around his desk taking a seat.

"Come in" he barked at the door, annoyed at whomever had interrupted them.

Hollis Doyle walked in his usual brash somewhat charming manner and bellowed out

"Fitz, I hope you and the lovely Ms. Pope have come up with a way to kill this story about the wife" he said "Can't have the whole campaign go to hell in a handbasket cause Mellie can't be discreet about scratching an itch" he turned and winked at Olivia. She rolled her eyes and answered him

"I just got to the phone with Mosley, Hollis. His making the rounds with the press as we speak denying the affair" she said

"Yeah, but is that enough to put this little cow pie to bed?" Hollis countered

"It will be" Olivia quickly responded "I have some opppo dirt on Langston. Once I present that to Billy Chambers, his camp will stop pushing the alleged affair to the front of the news feed"

Hollis clapped loudly and smiled at Fitz conspiratorially

"Lil gal's worth every penny, aint she?" Hollis said pouring on the Texas drawl. A _sshole_ , Fitz thought inwardly.

She knew he did it on purpose. It charmed most people he had to do business with. She was immune.

"See you all at the White House correspondent's dinner" he smiled and walked out of the room

"I really hate that man" Fitz said watching Hollis's retreating back

"He's not that bad. You just have to know how to deal with him" Olivia said also watching Hollis leave.

Fitz turned to Olivia. Hollis's interruption had reminded him about the earlier meeting he had walked in on; the one where they had been discussing something to do with the campaign…something they thought shouldn't be in his purview.

"By the way, what was he doing here? Verna too, why would Verna be here?" he asked curiously

Olivia froze. What should she say? what should she do?

 _You know what you have to do_ , a tiny voice said from deep inside.

She did; she knew what she had to do.

She had to risk destroying everything the man she loved had worked for…she had to lie.

 **Eight Months Earlier…**

Olivia Carolyn Pope was on a mission.

If Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III thought he was running point on their relationship…well, he was sorely mistaken. She was done playing the damsel. Olivia was a lot of things, but one thing she fucking was not, was some demure damsel waiting for a man to dictate the terms of a relationship.

That was true of any relationship; professional, personal…sexual.

True, it had been a while since she had done the whole sexuals thing…but it was like riding a bike, right? The male sex couldn't have changed that much…. could it?

She quickly dismissed her doubts and smiled as she thought of the plan she had formulated over the weekend. She was about to bring Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III down to his very sexy knees and she was going to enjoy every minute of it!

Olivia strode into office and spotted Fitz and Cy at the coffee station. They were both silent as they poured, stirred and measured…Neither of the men heard her as she walked toward them, her heels treading softly on the carpet. She stopped at the workspace closest to the coffee station. She leaned back on the desk lifted one hip in a half sit then called out a greeting

"Good morning, gentlemen"

Both men turned in unison to find her leaning confidently on the desk a nearby desk.

Their reactions were instantaneous. Fitz's jaw literally dropped to the ground and if Cy raised his eyebrows up any higher, they would have been in danger of touching the ceiling.

Boom goes the dynamite! she thought cockily.

She had gone all out this morning while getting ready to come into the office. She usually wore subdued black pant suits, minimal makeup and had her hair tied up in a conservative knot at the back of her head.

Not today.

Olivia always wanted to be taken seriously and she had taken to downplaying her appearance to help with projecting the competent, professional image she wanted to convey to colleagues and clients. Women may have come a long way, but it still took some effort to not come across as a sexual object when working with men in a professional setting. Dressing down helped her maintain the professional, no-nonsense demeanor she wanted.

She stood up straight from where she was leaning and let them take in the full effect.

She had let her hair down and it fell across her face and neck in loose waves. She had gotten up an hour earlier than usual to wrestle with the curling iron and it had paid off. Her makeup was impeccably applied.

Dark kohled eyes, lashes elongated and accentuated courtesy of a two-hundred-dollar mascara purchase she had made when she had visited Dubai a few years back; and finally, the piece de resistance, a deep red lipstick coloring her lips daring mortal souls to look away from her plush mouth. She wasn't oblivious, she knew the effect her full lips had on the opposite sex.

The effect they had on Fitzgerald Grant III.

Fitz looked at Olivia trying to get his brain to start working so he could respond to Olivia's greeting, but it was impossible. There wasn't a coherent thought to be found within a mile of his cerebrum.

He struggled to tear his gaze away from her lips and worked his way down to look at her body. The tight red dress she had on hid nothing from him… _or anyone else's a jealous_ thought crept in, but was quickly lost into the ether as he continued his way down her beautiful legs encased in black stockings and finally made a stop at the six-inch black heels she had on.

She didn't often dress up, it took to much time in the morning and she would always choose sleep over turning a few heads during the day; plus, people she learned tended to become immune if you always showcased your wares.

No, she preferred it this way, keep it under wraps and then every once in a while, when she needed to make a point; she dusted the cobwebs off and let naughty Olivia loose on the masses; Naughty Olivia liked to play dress up.

"Liv, wowzah!" Cy said regaining his senses before Fitz.

"You like?" she said feigning surprise "LA Weekly Tower is coming into the office for their profile piece on the campaign so I thought I'd take it up a notch" she said casually.

"Well, you are going to knock their socks off" Cy said appreciatively. He grabbed his coffee and headed off to his office.

Olivia and Fitz were left standing alone in the room.

"Hi" she said and started walking towards him

"Uh…hi" he said, finally managing to string a couple of words together.

She walked towards him until she stood flush against him. Without breaking eye contact she reached behind him for her coffee cup, making sure her body pushed into his as she picked it up. She turned around and walked over to the pot. She took her time doctoring the coffee, knowing he was watching every move she was making.

The cream went in. Two sugars.

Once she had it just right, she walked passed him towards her office without uttering a single word. She didn't have to turn around to know he was watching her every step. When she got to the door of her office she turned to face him. She sent him a little smile, walked in and shut the door behind her.

Let the games begin.

Xxxxxxxxx

Fitz was in hell. Pure unmitigated hell.

Olivia Pope was on a mission. To drive him mad.

He had barley managed to get his erection under control after getting his coffee this morning, before he was seated next to her in the HQ conference room, pretending to listen to Cy discuss upcoming campaign stops.

He had been doing a pretty good job too, until Liv had decided to cross her legs and he had watched her red dress ride up to reveal that the stockings on her legs only went up to her thighs and were being held up by a lace garter that attached to the stockings with drop clips.

A soft moan escaped his lips before he could stop it. He quickly looked around the room to see if anyone had caught the sound, but he was lucky. The rest of the team was busy doing what he should have been doing. Paying attention to what Cy was saying.

His eyes quickly moved back down to her legs. The view was unchanged, except now she had her hand resting on her legs playing with the down clips. He tore his gaze away from her beautiful thighs to look over at her.

She was looking directly at him. He was too shocked to hide his surprise.

Comprehension slowly flooded into his brain. She was doing this on purpose! The little minx! She was deliberately driving mad with desire.

He maintained eye contact with her as rapid-fire thoughts zinged across his brain.

 _What did this mean? Why was she flirting with him so openly…what had changed?_

Olivia watched the emotions play across his face and felt a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that she finally had the upper hand.

The feeling was short lived however, when she watched Fitz's the pensive look on his face slowly disappear only to be replaced by a roughish and wicked smile.

Olivia's heart jumped to her throat She didn't know why or how; but she knew that that smile meant she no longer had the upper hand.

Well…shit!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx


	7. Chapter 7 - No More Games

Chapter 7

Fitz was a man…a man with a plan.

He sat in his office watching through the privacy glass as Olivia walked across campaign HQ with the reporter from LA Weekly Tower.

He stalked her movements like a Lion hunting a gazelle on the Serengeti game reserve; And this lion had every intention of feeding on his chosen prey this very night.

Cyrus walked into his office, stopping his predatory thoughts.

"It's all set. I cancelled the dinner with the Union reps. They weren't happy about it, but I soothed things over by letting them know you would be spending more time with them on the next scheduled dinner" Cyrus said

Fitz smiled. Perfect.

"May I deign to ask what is so goddamn important you had to cancel dinner with a union whose endorsement would go a long way to improving our chances on the ticket?" Cyrus was irritated. Fitz had been off his game lately.

"Something came up" Fitz said without elaborating.

"Is it Mellie…the kids…you need to tell me or Olivia this stuff so we can play defense for you. Its our job! Cyrus stated, still on a fishing expedition to find out why Fitz was cancelling such an important dinner.

"I'll make it up to the union Cy" Fitz stood and walked over to the coat rack where he had hung his suit jacket.

"You didn't tell Olivia I cancelled, did you? I don't need both of you breaking my balls about cancelling" he lied smoothly

"No, I didn't tell Olivia. I don't need her breaking my balls for letting you cancel…Ah!" frustrated that Fitz wasn't being open; he stood up and began walking out the office.

"Cy, I'm leaving for the day" Fitz said stopping him short on the way out the door. "Jeannine already had the car brought around I'll see you in the morning"

"See you in the morning" Cy said not attempting to hide his annoyance with the Governor.

"Fitz…if this has to do with Mellie, I really need you to let me know so I can prep for any damage that hurricane you call a wife might perpetrate on the American Public and more importantly on the voting Republican public…." Cy was concerned

"Calm down Cy; I promise that this has nothing to do with Mellie" Fitz reassured him "I just need an afternoon off to get handle some private personal issues"

"With all due respect Fitz, you don't have any private personal issues. All your private personal issues, are my private personal issues, so how about you give me a break and let me know what's going on here?" Cyrus gritted out.

"Back of Cy" Fitz snapped his patience running out "We've been going non-stop without a break for the last year and I need an afternoon off, okay?"

Cyrus stopped embarrassed, maybe he was pushing Fitz too hard. The man probably just needed an afternoon off and here he was making a mountain out of nothing.

"Course you do governor, enjoy your down time" Cyrus walked out to the office feeling a little more reassured but still… he couldn't shake the feeling that the something was off; he didn't know what…but he was sure trouble was afoot.

Fitz walked out of his office working his way across the office towards where Olivia stood talking to the journalist from the LA lifestyle magazine. The reporter, William Forte, had already interviewed him for the article and the photographer he had brought along had taken several photos of Fitz working along with Cy, Olivia and several campaign aides. The article was set to go to print for the Sunday after next.

As he approached he noticed the infatuated look plastered on William Forte's face as he conversed with Olivia. He felt a flash of irritation and anger, but quickly squelched it.

Caveman Fitz wanted to grab Olivia throw her over his shoulder and carry her off to his cave and never let her out again.

"Liv, I'm headed out for the day" he said when he reached the pair. Olivia looked at her watch frowned and looked back at hm. She puzzled as to why he was leaving early, but she knew better that to question him in front of a reporter. Even one who wrote for a lifestyle magazine.

"Okay Governor, enjoy the rest of the day" she answered professionally "See you in the morning"

Fitz nodded, he shook William Forte's hand and made his way out the door to the waiting car.

Olivia spent the remainder of the day wondering what on earth would have made Fitz leave campaign HQ early. She would have been worried if hadn't seemed as relaxed as he had walking out the door. Whatever it was; it obviously wasn't an emergency, she thought to herself.

She worked late into the night, going over the campaign information Cyrus had shared during the morning meeting. She hadn't heard a word he said. She had been too busy trying to seduce Fitz. She needed to make sure she familiarized herself with the schedule to pencil the events she was to attend along with Fitz.

She worked for a few hours before looking away from the glare of her computer screen to give her eyes a rest. With nothing to distract her thoughts, she quickly flashed back to todays meeting at the conference room across the hall from her office.

She had brought her A game to that meeting trying to seduce Fitz. She had channeled Sharon Stone's Character in Basic Instinct. Crossing and uncrossing her legs in an effort to draw his eyes to the lacy garters she wore underneath her red dress.

Sharon had made it look easy to cross one's legs and show just enough leg to entice.

Sharon Stone was a liar.

She had to cross and uncross her legs three times before the skirt of her dress hiked up to where she needed it to be to expose the lace garters she had received as a gift from Abby years ago.

It was good luck too, that it had worked the third time around. She had been getting ready to give up and just pull up the dress, look over at Fitz and ask him straight out; "Yo, you up?!"

She chuckled softly as she imagined his reaction not to mention her colleague's reactions if she ever did anything that fucking crazy. Ha!

She stood up looked and walked around the office stretching her arms and legs. It was dark save for the light pouring out from her office. She walked back into her office on her aching feet and sat back down.

She had a sudden thought. She looked around surreptitiously, her paranoia needing additional confirmation that she was alone in the office.

 _Stop it Liv! Your alone in the building_ she reassured herself. She hiked up her dress to look at the stockings and garters she had slid on with such care this morning.

Well they were defintately sexy she thought as she looked down at them with a detached clinical eye. At least _she_ thought they were…

Maybe he wasn't a lace stockings kind of guy. They probably reminded him of his mother.

She groaned at the thought; she placed her elbows on her knees before burying her face in the palm of both of her hands.

Lace stockings.

Lace. Fucking. Stockings.

What the hell had she been thinking!

"I would give close to anything to find out what's going through your head right now, Livvie"

She squealed in fright when she heard the voice at her door. She turned to find Fitz standing by the door frame staring at her a wicked smile on his face.

She grabbed her chest and bent over "shit, you scared me half to death" she said trying to slow down her heartbeat from being scared shitless. Or at least she thought that was why her heart was beating a thousand beats per minuite.

"Sorry Livvie, that wasn't my intention" he said quietly.

They stood staring at each other; silent. Olivia noticed that he had changed out of his office attire and was now dressed in jeans. He had on a tee shirt with a button-down shirt layered on-top. The entire ensemble was tied off with a casual fitted black jacket. He looked fucking amazing.

The silence stretched neither of them saying a word.

It happened at the blink of an eye. If asked later they would be hard pressed to say who made the first move. It might have been simultaneously but…it didn't matter. They had crossed the room, met in the middle and melted into each other's arms.

The kiss was wild. All lips, teeth, tongues…their heads moving in a crudely orchestrated dance. There was none of the playful soft kisses they usually indulged in before going at each other.

It went from 0 to 100 in seconds.

"Liv…Livvie…I was going to take you away from here, I want us to go somewhere we could…." Fitz began but Olivia cut him off.

"Fitz please, this isn't some fantasy…It's just us, I don't care where we are just please…make love to me?" she pleaded. She knew she sounded desperate, and any other time with any other person she would be have been mortified; But in this moment, this very second, all she cared about was being with him. The background, the location, pride...none of it mattered. All that mattered was…. this.

"Fitz…please" she whispered as she placed a kiss against his lips.

She saw it in his eyes the minute he stopped giving a damn and gave in. His eyes darkened and he brought his head down capturing her mouth with a hard-rough kiss.

A moan escaped her as she felt the force of his passion envelope her.

The games were officially over.

He bent his knees placed his hands on her ass lifted her and carried her over to the nearest wall, her back hitting the hard surface with a soft thud.

Fitz was beyond reason. Nothing short of the apocalypse was going to stop him from being inside Olivia as soon as possible. He pinned her against the wall buried his hands in her hair and tried to inhale her into his body. He kissed her without his usual care, roughly gnawing at her lips nipping at her and licking into that mouth…Christ, that mouth….

Olivia grabbed a hold of his jacket and quickly pushed it off his shoulders then attacked the buttons of his shirt, she groaned frustrated at how long it was taking to get the shirt off him. Fitz caught on and grabbed a hold of both the button-down shirt and t-shirt and pulled them both up and over his head pulling them off. With Fitz helping with the removal of his shirts, Olivia reached down and undid the belt buckle on his jeans. She snapped open the top button on the jeans and impatiently pushed her hand down under his boxers to grip him with her hand.

Fitz stopped when he felt her soft hand grip his cock. The shirt, half off, hang off his hand as he stilled. His entire body concentrating on the absolutely perfect feeling of having her soft hand move up and down his hard length

"Livvie…" She hadn't thought it was possible for his voice to get that deep.

Fitz was already on the edge of coming from just having her hand on him, so he quickly decided that he needed to get her to catch up to him or he would be leaving her in the dust.

He gently pried her hand off his cock. He grabbed Olivia and flipped her around so she faced the wall. He grabbed the tab of the zipper of her dress and pulled it down. He grabbed the sleeves of the dress and pulled it down to her waist and then over her hips, letting the dress pool down and join the growing heap of clothing on the floor.

He flipped her back around, got down on his knees and pulled her underwear down lifting her legs one at a time to remove the tiny black garment. He left the six inch fuck me pumps on her feet. He threw the minuscule fabric over his shoulder without a care.

Fuck…He stilled and stared at the perfection before him. He had dreamed about her beautiful pussy for months and now he was standing close enough to do all the things he did to her in his dreams. Finger her, fuck her, kiss her...lick her.

"Fitz" Olivia moaned impatiently pulling on his shoulders trying to bring him up to eye level.

"No" he said roughly resisting the tug. "I want to see…every night I go to bed I dream of your beautiful pussy.

"Fitz, please…" her whisper floated down to where he knelt.

"Please what, Livvie…?" he asked throatily

"Please kiss you…okay" he leaned in and placed a light kiss right above her mound and heard her breath catch.

Done teasing himself, he reached out and using both thumbs he opened her up to him. He took a minute to appreciate how close he was to heaven and then covered her with his mouth.

Olivia cried out as her hips moved forward in response to the heat of having his mouth on her. Oh god…it was too good…wait she didn't think she could stay on her feet and withstand this pleasure. It was too much to ask.

She felt the muscles in her midriff tighten and a panic set in as Fitz honed in on her clit. He alternated between flicking it and sucking it full on into his mouth, overloading her senses.

"Fitz… I can't…" she whispered her head thrown back the pleasure short circuiting every nerve in her body.

Sensing how close she was to an orgasm, Fitz quickly rose to his feet and had his jeans, socks and shoes off in seconds. He brought his mouth down, pushing his tongue into her mouth. She moaned as he swept his tongue into her mouth over and over again, sharing her taste with her.

He grabbed Olivia's beautiful ass once again lifting her with one strong arm and used his other hand to grab his cock and direct it inside her.

She was so wet the head of his cock easily slipped into her body. They moaned in unison as the pleasure bombarded them. Fitz dipped his knees and started to push further into her body, but to his surprise he didn't go in easy.

"I'm sorry" she rasped out "its been a while for me"

"It's okay Livvie, I got you" he rasped out "I got you"

Fitz brought his thumb up to his mouth, wet it and worked his hand down their bodies to her clit. She cried as he began to work rub her clit in circles while slowly working his cock deeper into her body that was opening up slowly as he worked her over.

Within a minute, Fitz had worked himself in to the hilt; Every muscle in his body clenched in an effort to control the lust that was roaring through him. He shook from the effort.

"Liv, I have to move, I need to move…" he was unable to continue

Olivia could only imagine the effort it was taking for him to hold still while her body slowly accommodated his sizeable girth; however, nature had already taken its course; her body welcoming him, stretching to accommodate every inch of his hard cock.

"Fitz you can move, I'm ready…I'm so ready" she whispered sexily into his hear

Fitz broke, he let out a guttural sound, he reached down grabbed a hold of her thighs wrapping them around his waist and he let the beast loose.

All the pent-up frustration from the loveless years with Mellie, the stress of the campaign, the madness of finally being with the woman he loved. He poured it all out. He hammered into her unceasingly.

Olivia held on tight absorbing all the emotion as he pounded into her bringing her ever closer to an orgasm she feared she would not survive. She felt it begin to detonate and all her senses went dark.

She saw nothing, she heard nothing all. She only felt as her Fitz pushed into her over and over again.

Fitz felt Olivia tighten on his cock and felt the powerful orgasm flow through her. He gritted his teeth as her inner muscles clenched down on his pounding cock.

It was enough. It was too much. His knees bent and he pushed into her powerfully one last time and went over the cliff. He came and came and came. It was like nothing he had ever felt in his life.

His knees weak, he gripped Liv's back and slid down the wall with her. Until he was on his knees again with her legs wrapped around him.

They sat quietly trying to catch their breaths; both feeling transformed.

Fitz pulled back and looked at Olivia and she looked back at him.

It was a whole new world for them now.


	8. Chapter 8 - Fitz is Happy

**Chapter 8 - FITZ IS HAPPY….**

 **Mellie…**

Something was wrong.

Fitz was Happy.

Mellie was at a loss. Her first thoughts at the drastic change in mood was that he was celebrating the fact that he _thought_ he was about to be rid of her, but after a while _she_ thought different. No that's not what this is; something else was going on….

She watched Fitz whistle as he walked to the front door, stopping to grab his car keys and jacket before walking out.

I need to get to the bottom of whatever the hell this is she thought….

 **Cyrus…**

Something was wrong.

Fitz was Happy.

Cyrus really shouldn't have been concerned, it was a good thing that his candidate was happy _right?_ The new attitude also meant that Fitz was back on his game. He pulled out all the stops at every campaign event. The Grant charm working its way across the crowds drawing people in; which was good… it was great!

Then why did Cyrus feel like everything was about to come down crashing and burning….

 **Olivia…**

Something was wrong

Fitz was Happy.

Olivia smiled watching him talking to Quinn at campaign HQ. That damn fool was going to give them away if he didn't stop walking around with that stupid smile on his face. She really wasn't mad at him. She was happy to…ecstatic. Really good sex did that to a woman….

 **Fitz….**

Fitz was happy!

He had tried valiantly to try and tamp down his joy, but he was failing miserably.

He usually managed to covey a professional demeanor, but then he would catch sight of Olivia with his peripheral vision and all his good intentions went flying out the window. Well, maybe not all good intentions, he thought smirking; he had a lot of dirty, filthy, bad intentions for Ms. Pope as well…

It had been difficult being around her before, but now…. now that he had made his dreams a reality it was downright impossible.

Yup, being in love did that to a man…

Xxxxx

Fitz's had met with his lawyer Stephen Finch to start the divorce proceedings against Mellie. Finch was the best divorce lawyer in California and was also good friends with Fitz. He was also a fellow Harvard alum.

The two men were seated at the restaurant at the Vienna Towers discussing filing the dissolution of marriage paperwork.

Fitz had decided meeting on neutral ground was the best course of action. It would only take one reporter sporting him at the Law firm of Finch and Grassley, for the rumors to start.

He also couldn't meet him at campaign HQ as it would have tipped Cyrus and Olivia to his plans. Meeting at a restaurant was the safest option.

Stephen and him had been friends for years, if they were spotted at the restaurant there was a plausible reasonable excuse for them to be seen together. They were just two friends having dinner at one of the more upscale restaurants in the area.

There was also the fact that Olivia lived upstairs and as soon as he finished this meeting he was headed up to her loft…mmhh…

He brought his thoughts back to their proper destination

"She's not going to go quietly Stephen. It's not Mellie style" he warned his friend as they nursed their pre-dinner drinks.

Stephen smiled at his friend seated across the table and tried to reassure him

"I never thought she would, Fitz. Don't forget I've known Mellie just as long as you have" It was true. Stephen, Mellie and Fitz had all graduated from Harvard Law on the same year and had been close friends through out their years in law school.

"I want this over and done with as soon as possible" Fitz stated firmly "She's going to ask for an astronomical amount of money and draw this out as long as possible. I want you to give her what she wants, within reason, and get me out of this. The only thing I want is the kids"

Stephen shook his head "Fitz I know Mellie, if you go in there saying you're willing to give her whatever she wants so you can be free…well, that would just be giving up all your cards" Stephen took a sip of his drink and looked at Fitz

"We need to be smart about this, we play hardball. She needs to think that you're not willing to concede much so when we finally do give her most of what she wants she will think that she's won"

Fitz listened and agreed. Mellie was the queen of vindictiveness if she got the upper hand during this divorce there was no telling what kind of damage she could do to him on a financial and personal scale.

"Fine, I'll follow your lead on this one, but I mean it Stephen. I want out as fast as possible. I'm done with Mellie. I want her GONE!" he snapped

"Leave it to me" Stephen said confidently.

"So, what's her name?" Stephen said looking at Fitz with a knowing smile on his face.

Fitz's head jerked up at the question. He looked over at his friend and after a second, he smiled back.

"Liv…her name is Olivia"

Xxxxxxxxxx

Olivia wasn't scheduled to see Fitz today. He had told her he had a meeting with some potential donors at some bourgeois country club. He was scheduled to go with Cyrus. Cyrus did better with the old white crotchety republican set then her black ass did.

She was currently parked on her comfy couch with a glass of wine and a bowl of popcorn. She had been there for hours engrossed with a marathon of a forensic murder show.

 _Why did the stupidest people always think they could get away with murder? Morons…_

Her doorbell rang during a particularly good episode, so she run to the door to see who was interrupting her and was happy to see Abby through the key hole. She quickly opened the door.

"Your interrupting Abby" she said rushing back to her living room "shoes off and come watch"

She settled back on the couch pulling her comfy blanket back on her legs. Abby followed orders dropping her coat, bag and shoes at the front door before heading to the couch to get under the comfy throw with Olivia.

"Oh, this is great, I love murder porn" Abby said avidly

Olivia looked at her puzzled "murder porn?"

"Yup, the disturbing habit of watching disturbing violent tv shows about murder, sex, and betrayal" Abbs responded

"Where in the hell did you here that?" Olivia asked amused

"South Park" she responded

They paused looking at each other before they both burst out laughing.

"We shouldn't be laughing Abbs, people are dead" she said seriously

"I know" Abby agreed "but have you noticed how it's always the stupid people that do this shit?"

Abby turned to the tv and yelled at the murder in the yellow jump suit being interviewed about his role in the murder of his wife

"You were never going to get away with it, dummy! You're to goddamn stupid!"

Olivia giggled from her position on the couch as she watched Abby yell at the TV.

Abby turned at the sound of Olivia's laughter and stared. She had known Olivia for over ten years and never…NEVER, heard her giggle. She searched her best friends face.

"Liv…Oh my god you're getting laid" Abby squealed, jumped up off the couch and started running in place while making several noises any teenage girl would be glad to claim

Olivia froze "what no, I am not Abby!"

Abby started dancing in place to some imaginary song

"Yes, you are Liv; somebody gave Olivia Pope the _D_ " she said confident in her supposition. She stopped dancing and quickly got back on the couch grabbing Olivia's glass of wine and taking a sip

"Your are such a secretive bitch! I tell you all the details of my sexuals and when you finally get laid you don't call me" Abby said outraged

"Abby…" she didn't get a chance to get another word out

"Who is he? Oh my god, do I know him? Does he work for the campaign?" She put down the wine glass on the coffee table. Typical Abby she kept on asking questions without letting Olivia get a word in to respond

"Is he hung? Did he make you come? Of course, he made you come, you're fucking giggling!"

"Abby! Take a deep breath and calm down!" Olivia yelled trying to bring Abby back from the manic episode she currently seemed to be experiencing

"How can I calm down, you're not telling me anything Liv!" Abby yelled back

"…Because you won't let me get a word in…" Liv answered her

Abby stopped and looked at Olivia. She pantomimed picking up a key and shutting an imaginary lock on her mouth and then stared at Olivia waiting for details.

Olivia looked back, wrestling with wanting to share everything with Abby and with wanting to keep the affair private. She settled on a compromise.

"Yes, and Yes" she responded curtly. Abby looked at her confused

"Yes, he is hung and yes he made me come. A lot."

The imaginary lock on Abbys mouth broke open and she was back to squealing _ala_ teenage girl.

She opened her mouth to start firing follow up questions but Olivia quickly raised her arm and stopped her.

"I'm not ready to go into the details of who he is and if I am in a relationship, Abby" she hoped her friend would respect her request for privacy

"Trust me, when I am ready, you will be the first call I make" she added

Abby smiled down at Olivia

"Fine" she acquiesced

"So, scale of one to ten?" Abby asked sheepishly

"A thousand Abby; I literally saw God" Olivia was helpless to stop the new round of squealing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

After his dinner with Stephen, Fitz had made his way to the elevator bank of the Vienna and pressed the up button to the 25th floor to Olivia's loft.

As he approached the door he thought he had a woman squealing from inside Olivia's apartment and quickened his step worried that something might be wrong.

He pulled out the key pass Olivia had provided him several days prior. The key allowed him to come in through the under-ground parking lot without being seen and also provided him with access to her front door.

He opened the front door and walked down the hallway to her living room to find her friend Abby dancing and jumping around squealing while Olivia looked on amused.

"Everything okay here, ladies" They both froze. Abby's hair had fallen wildly all over her face and she quickly used both her hands to push it off her face. Olivia sat on the couch doing her best impression of a grouper that had been pulled out of the water and was trying to catch a breath.

"Fitz" Olivia growled out "what are you doing here?"

"Yeah Fitz, what are you doing here?" Abby had recovered her composure and was curious why Olivia's boss, the Governor of California was standing in her living room at 11pm.

Fitz answered truthfully, turning to look at Olivia "I'm here to see you"

Olivia turned and looked over at Abby. She watched as her friend slowly connected the dots in her brain. Abby was solving the puzzle and she was screwed!

Less then a minute later Abby broke the silence

"Oh my God…Oh my God…" she turned her head towards Olivia and then Fitz; back to Olivia and back to Fitz. It all made sense now!

"Okay, I am going to go home now" she put her shoes on and turned to Olivia before leaving

"I am going to call you" she said her eyes blazing "you better pick up the fucking phone and tell me what the hell is going on here, understood?" she asked firmly

"Understood" Olivia said meekly

She smiled at her and then turned to Fitz

"You hurt her, I take your balls as a trophy, understood?" she said menacingly

Fitz nodded "Understood"

With that Abby walked down the hallway and they heard the door close 30 seconds later

Fitz turned to look at Olivia who was sitting up on her knees on her couch

"Hi"

"Hi"


	9. Chapter 9 - Taking it Slow

**Chapter 9 – Taking it Slow**

Olivia stared at Fitz standing in her living room and puzzled

"Fitz, what are you doing here" she asked "I thought you were meeting the donors and Cy at the Leicester Country Club"

"I…we did meet the donors. We got done about an hour ago" he paused then clarified "I got done an hour ago…Cy is still schmoozing"

He walked up to where she knelt on the couch and dropped a quick kiss on her mouth. "I wanted to see you and I didn't want to wait any longer, so I gave them a bullshit excuse and left"

"Fitz, you really shouldn't blow off anyone trying to write as check more than four zeros included" she said. She watched him as he walked around from the back of he sofa and stood next to her. She looked up and continued

"We need to be diligent…" she didn't get a chance to finish the sentence. One second, she was on the sofa and the next thing she knew she was in the air and then in his arms as he started walking her towards her bedroom.

"Fitz" she started again, trying to make her point before they got into the bedroom because she knew once they got in there…well…

"Olivia, shut up" Liv's head snapped back in surprise.

"We had a deal Livvie" Fitz said firmly "No fucking in HQ. If I am to _keep_ that promise I need you to promise me in kind, that when I get you into your bedroom; or any bedroom for that matter, you shut up and let me fuck you without talking about work…deal?"

Olivia felt the provocative words flow through her body. That freaking weird nerve she had that sent his sexy voice down from her ear straight to her clit was firing up again and she felt herself get wet.

How did he do that to her? What kind of mythical creature was able to turn a woman on without touching her, but by only uttering…words

They were in her bedroom now, the lights were off, but the moon lit up the room enough for Fitz to make his way to the King size bed and lay her down on top.

He pulled back and slowly took off his jacket, shoes, socks…all the while looking at her; never breaking eye contact with her. He reached for the buttons on his shirt and peeled it off, then took off his trousers. He left his boxers on. He needed them onto try and help him maintain some control.

Olivia lay still watching Fitz undress and took a moment to admire his chest and abs…man those Abs! They hadn't been sleeping together for long, so she had quite a to do list she needed to fulfil with Fitzgerald Thomas the Grant the III; but near the very top of the list was to her desire to explore that muscular chest and his abs with her hands…with her mouth…and then slowly work her way down… yum!

Fitz wasn't in a hurry. He had spent the last few days satisfying his libido, losing himself in Olivia. Tonight, he wanted to take his time. He wanted a redo, time to go over every inch and make sure he didn't miss a scintilla of her body. He wanted to be…diligent.

He wanted to study every inch of her body. It was as if there would be a test after and he intended to ace it.

Olivia lay spread-out on the flat on the bed and let Fitz take his time. She had gotten used to him going at her like a man unhinged, but this slow pace was nice.

She felt him lift her right foot and he start raining kisses on her instep, her calf…her inner thigh…her breath caught; he laid her right leg down and reached for the left, taking time to give it the same attention he had provided the right.

Olivia smiled as Fitz continued his slow perusal. Fitz's hands on her…his mouth…it was magic…fucking sorcery.

Olivia's soft moans were floating down to where Fitz's was playing. The soft sounds turned him on so much he reached down to push his erection into obedience, hoping to get it to behave, it didn't work. He had barely covered all the ground he wanted to cover and already he was ready to explode. Olivia did that to him.

He moved up, grabbed her panties and slowly dragged them off her beautiful legs. Olivia assisted by lifting her legs. Once he had them off, he moved back up to stare at her beautiful mound…mmhh…

He pushed his palms between her thighs and moved her legs apart…Beautiful…

He looked at the moist curls and softly blew on her. Olivia's back arched when she felt the cool air blow across her…so good…

Fitz lowered his head and nuzzled her pubis, inhaling; he parted her with his fingers and licked her…mmhh…

Olivia moved sensuously on the bed as Fitz continued playing between her legs. He smelled the sweet perfume of her pussy, tasted the sweet nectar of her pussy, listened to the sweet sounds as he pleasured her pussy…Fitz indulged all his senses; he was drunk on Olivia.

"Fitz…" Livvie called out his name pleading. He knew what she wanted and he went in for the kill. He grabbed both her legs and moved them over his shoulders and put his mouth on her. He used his tongue to spread her lips apart and swirled around her clit.

"Fitz!" she called out her back arching off the bed. Fitz had no mercy, he kept up the pressure; licking, sucking and melting her down while he licked up every drop.

Wave after wave of pleasure rocked through her body, she was on fire. Feeling an enormous orgasm barreling her towards oblivion, she reached down to push him off her. The pleasure overwhelming her; but Fitz wouldn't let go, wouldn't let up. He had her legs in a death grip, while he went to town on her clit.

Her orgasm was his, he wanted it; he was going to take it.

Olivia fell off the precipice. She went dark like she always did whenever he made her come. Her hips moved statically as her body tried to process the complete assault on her senses.

Fitz moved up her body as she twitched below him coming down from the tsunami of an orgasm he had just given her. He kissed up her midriff and moved up to her beautiful breasts. He pulled one hard pebbled nipple into his mouth and sucked her in. Hard.

Olivia has barley recovered from her orgasm when she felt Fitz move up to focus on her breasts. Fuck…she was going to die from pleasure. She would be buried and the epitaph on her tombstone would simply state "died from coming too damn much"

Fitz broke through her thoughts as he moved to her other breast and paid it similar attention. The sucking motion sent a zing down her midriff to her now very sensitive clit. She moaned out loud.

Fitz reluctantly left her breasts and moved up to her neck spreading kisses as he traversed up her body. He finally got to her mouth and grabbed her lips in rough kiss. He loved sharing her taste with her. He couldn't get his tongue deep enough into her pussy, she tasted so damn good and he wanted her to know that.

Grabbing onto his last thread of his control, he grabbed her by the chin and called her name

"Liv…"

She forced her eyes open and looked at him. She almost had to look away when she looked into his eyes. The raw emotion she saw in her eyes…

"This one is for me…" he told her not breaking eye contact. She understood, he was done holding out.

He waited looking at her. She licked her lips returning his gaze and nodded.

Fitz exploded into action. All thoughts of going slow tossed out of his mind like yesterday's trash.

He grabbed Liv's legs and wrapping them around his midriff. He reached down aligned himself with her opening and thrust. Hard

"God, yes..." he hissed. He paused for a second to make sure he hadn't hurt her with his brutish entry, but her head was thrown back in pleasure and he felt her legs tighten around him.

He brought his weight down on her pushed his face into her neck and went wild. Pumping and Pumping like a mad man, praying he wasn't hurting her but powerless to stop as he felt the orgasm building up inside him. As he drew closer and closer to the cliff, the need to be deeper inside her grew.

He lifted up pulled back and grabbed a hold of her legs. He pulled them both over his shoulders and leaned forward.

Liv moaned at the new position. She was wide open to him now, there was no hiding. He could go anywhere he wanted.

She was so far gone she couldn't protest, she just let Fitz move her around like a rag doll. Let him position her how he wanted, how he needed, so he could come; so she could come…so they could come.

She felt the cataclysm barreling toward her again and from the sounds of Fitz's moans she knew he was getting close too. She reached out to grab his face and brought him down for a hard kiss. He instantly returned her passion but he never stopped rocking…pushing…thrusting into her body.

They lost control at the exact same moment. Liv screaming out her pleasure and Fitz burrowing his face into her neck as he groaned out his release.

They lay there entwined together for a while, neither of them moving as they recovered their breaths. The sweat on their bodies started to cause a chill so Fitz ever thoughtful, reached down to the floor to grab the coverlet that had fallen on the floor and covered them.

He wanted to say something…utter love words to her…but he couldn't. His throat was shaking too damn much.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	10. Chapter 10- Something Wicked

Chapter 10

 **Something Wicked this Way Comes**

 **One year Later…**

Olivia was headed into the office to meet Cyrus on a Saturday. He had called her the night before and asked her to come in. He needed to discuss something important with her.

" _Tell me over the phone, Cy!" She had barked into the phone_

" _This is face to face information Liv, I'll see you at HQ in the morning" the dial tone hit her ear._

 _What in the hell? Olivia felt her heart beat pick up. What was going on…Cyrus had sounded agitated on the phone._

 _Why doesn't he want me to tell Fitz about the meeting?_

 _Her imagination went into overdrive as she thought of all the catastrophic things that could have happened that would precipitate Cyrus scheduling a clandestine meeting with her. He had to know that it wasn't a small request to ask her to lie to Fitz. He knew the nature of their relationship. She didn't lie to Fitz and Fitz didn't lie to her._

 _At the start of their relationship, when they were discussing the parameters of their relationship, Fitz had stressed to her the importance of honesty in a relationship. He had just spent the last twenty years of his life tethered to Mellie who was the most duplicitous, cold, iniquitous woman and he wanted to be free of that kind of unscrupulous behavior._

 _She heard heavy footfalls coming up behind her and she was soon wrapped in strong arms as Fitz came up behind her and pulled her back into him while placing a soft kiss on her neck._

" _Who was that on the phone?" he asked continuing to rain kisses on her neck_

" _It was…Abby" she lied "…Just Abby calling to see if I was free for lunch"_

 _She took a deep breath and willed herself to act blasé. She turned around to face him smiling_

" _So, am I available for lunch, candidate elect?" she asked with a raised brow_

 _Fitz smiled; her reached down between their bodies and moved down to unsnap the top button on her jeans. A wicked smile broke over his face_

" _Hell no"_

 _xxxxx_

* * *

She got to HQ at 7:00 am on the dot, the agreed upon meeting time with Cy.

She had left Fitz passed out cold in bed. She smiled superciliously knowing she was responsible for his exhaustion. She had pulled out all the stops during their lovemaking the night before and in the early dawn hours, he had finally cried Uncle and fallen asleep.

She wished she could be in bed curled up next to him, she was just as exhausted as he was. Fitzgerald Grant was nothing if not thorough when it came to seeing to her pleasure.

She made her way into the building. The lights were on and she figured Cyrus must already be in his office waiting for her. She walked down toward his office but stopped short when she heard multiple voices floating from the conference room.

She detoured and headed to the meeting room. Once she entered, she was shocked to find multiple familiar faces seated around the table.

Apart from Cyrus; Mellie, Hollis Doyle and Verna Thornton occupied seats around the table

"What the hell is going on?" she asked in a whisper

"Seat down Liv, we need to talk "Cyrus said somberly

Liv walked on unsteady feet to the nearest chair and sat.

Thirty minutes later she sat in stunned silence and absorbed everything Cyrus had just shared with her. The room was silent watching her digest the news. She turned to the group, fighting back tears

"We need to fix this for him…How do we fix this for him?" she asked.

No one answered.

They all sat quiet. Unable to see a way through.

xxxx

* * *

 **Six Months Earlier…**

Stephen Finch had underestimated Mellie.

He knew she was greedy, villainous, deviant; she had been that way during their college years, but he was still surprised at the level of her machinations as he looked over her demands.

Fitz and him were best friends in law school. Both of them were good looking, swashbuckling guys who were enjoying the college years. That was until Fitz started dating an attractive classmate enrolled in the same torts course as them.

Mellie.

Stephen had watched the succubus aka Mellie slowly sink her tentacles into Fitz who seemed oblivious to her true nature _._ He had wanted to warn Fitz against seeing her, but the arrangement between the two of them appeared to be more friends with benefits then boyfriend and girlfriend, so he let it go. It was one of the biggest regrets of his life.

The whole thing had come to a head on the night they all found out they had passed the bar. They had all gone out celebrating with friends. That night Mellie had gotten Fitz so drunk he had barely been able to string a coherent sentence together. Stephen was not in much better shape by the time the three of them had taken a cab to his and Fitz's shared living space.

Stephen had passed out on the couch and the next morning he had walked into the bathroom to find a self-satisfied Mellie brushing her teeth, with Fitz's toothbrush, looking like the cat that ate the canary.

She dropped the bombshell a month later, she was pregnant.

Stephen had been furious. He knew that she had taken advantage of Fitz the night they had found out they had passed the bar. He often reflected back on that night. On how Mellie kept the drinks flowing while barely touching her gin and tonic.

As soon as Fitz found out the baby he had done the right thing. Fitz always did the right thing, the fucking honorable bastard. Stephen had served as the best man for the nuptials and he remembered biting his tongue until it almost bled when the priest asked if anyone objected to the union.

 _Yes! I vehemently object on the grounds that my best friend is marrying a morally vacuous parasite that is going to destroy the good decent man standing in front of us._

After he had married Mellie and Fitz had gone about setting up a life for his new wife, baby and for himself. Over the years his friendship with Fitz had ebbed to the point where they could no longer really consider each other the best of friends. Fitz as a married man had less time to spend with Stephen, especially as Mellie made more and more demands on his time to keep him away from Stephen whom she knew loathed her.

Stephen hadn't pushed back too much to maintain the friendship. He couldn't stand having a front row to seat to the distraction Mellie wrought on his best friend.

They had kept in touch. He was there for the birth of their second child, attended christenings. Stephen had never married or had children, so the relationship was never the same. It was never like it was in college.

Now Fitz wanted him to handle his divorce. Stephen had quickly accepted. The guilt had been eating him up for years. Maybe he hadn't fought hard enough to keep his friend out of Mellie's clutches.

It didn't matter now, he couldn't go back and change it. What he could do was ensure that he got Mellie out of Fitz's life for GOOD.

There was no way in hell he was going to let Mellie hold his friend captive for a minute longer. If it was the last thing he did on Gods green earth

He would get Fitz out of that fucking marriage…and away from Mellie.

xxxx

* * *

Cyrus came charging into Fitz's office. He walked in shut the door and turned an angry gaze at Fitz

"Your filing for divorce?!" he bellowed

"Cy…" Fitz started to answer, but was quickly cut off.

"You're running for president and decide to file for divorce without informing either one of your campaign managers, what the hell are you playing at Fitz?!" Cy railed

Fitz sighed. He knew Cyrus would fly off the wall when he found out about the divorce. He had hoped to keep it under wraps for a while, but the proverbial cat seemed to be out of the bag.

"I haven't filed for divorce Cyrus, I am in the process of preparing to file for divorce" he stated calmly "I am also going to tell you what I told Mellie, I am not running for president…yet; I am running to be the candidate on the republican ticket. It's less messy if I leave her now then when I am actually running for office or god forbid when I am in the white house". The logic was sound. Why was he having such a hard time selling it to all those around him?

Cyrus was about to snap back a response, when the door opened and Olivia strode in.

Fitz watched looked her over. He felt his blood warm and thicken as he remembered the passion they had shared the night before…mmhh…

"What's going on she asked?" sensing the anger vibrating off Cyrus. She had gotten a call on the inside office line from him five minutes prior asking her to meet him in Fitz's office.

"Did you know about this?" Cyrus asked angrily pointing a finger at her face

Olivia's rancor rose, why the hell was he attacking her?

"Get that finger out of my face Cy" she angrily said "Calm down and tell me what the hell is going?"

Cyrus turned his anger back at Fitz. The finger moved from pointing at Liv to pointing at Fitz.

"He. Filed. For. Divorce." He hissed out through clenched teeth.

Liv stunned, quickly turned to face Fitz.

"You what?" she said

Cyrus answered for Fitz and repeated

"He filed for divorce Liv, we're finished. There is no way we get the nomination now…Ah!"

Olivia stared as Fitz as Cyrus raged. He steadfastly maintained eye contact.

"Did you do this?" she asked quietly. _What was happening?_

"I didn't file for divorce Liv, I asked my friend Stephen to explore the options. I want out Mellie gone, before I'm on the ticket. Its less messy if file now. If I wait until we cinch the ticket or when I am in the White House…the fallout will be worse" he never took his eyes off her as he spoke.

Silence fell across the room as each of them mulled the impact of a divorce on the campaign.

Fitz broke the silence, turning to face the raging red hued Cyrus.

"Cy you've had a front row seat to the disaster that is my marriage to Mellie. I want out. I need to be out of this…I can't do it anymore; and if you move past the anger you know I'm right" he said quietly

"Mellie and I are to acrimonious to make it through a presidential campaign and eight years in the White House. Mellie and I need to get a divorce and this is the time to do it" he paused and repeated the reflection "You know I am right Cy, this is the time to do it"

The room remained silent as they processed Fitz's words.

Finally, Cyrus spoke.

"Okay, you're right" Fitz stunned pulled his gaze from Olivia and looked at Cyrus.

"No, you're right. This is the time to do it. She's not going to go quietly, we all need to be prepared for that" Again, no words were exchanged. To know Mellie was to know that they were in for the fight of their lives.

Cyrus turned to Olivia

"We need to get ahead of this. Make sure the narrative plays out to the press the way we want it to" he said. Olivia nodded. She was still too stunned to speak.

 _Fitz was getting a divorce…Fitz was getting a divorce?... Fitz was getting a divorce!_

"Why hasn't Stephen filed the paperwork?" Cyrus asked curiously. Fitz wasn't a hedge your bets kind of guy. When he decided on a course of action, he usually went in full speed. The hesitation on filing the paperwork was unusual. Was he having second thoughts?

"I asked him to hold off until I told everyone I needed to…Mellie, the kids…the two of you. I needed to let everyone know in person before the paperwork was filed. Once Mellie gets served with the papers…there is no telling what she might do" he answered.

Mellie was a reactionary creature with a killer instinct to wound anyone she perceived as the enemy. Once she was served, he would be at the top of her list. He grimaced thinking about the hell that was about to rain in on him, but then he looked over at Oliva and knew it was worth it. He'd do _anything_ to be with her. He would fight Legions.

A thought suddenly occurred to him and he turned back to Cy.

"Wait Cy, who told you about the divorce?" Cyrus looked at him knowingly "Mellie" Fitz said, answering his own question.

Cyrus nodded in affirmation.

"I can't stay with her Cy" Fitz gestured around his office and pointed at the _**Grant for the people**_ stencils on the walls.

"I'd rather give all this up then stay in the sustained state of misery this marriage has put me in" he added staidly.

Cyrus looked at Fitz and felt a wave of empathy, a rare feeling for him, flow through him.

Fitz and him had a long history together. Not just as colleagues, but as friends. He knew he was miserable. Hell, every minute spent around Mellie Grant made him ever grateful for the fact he was gay. He would hate to think that if he was straight he would have found something attractive about that colossal bitch. Even if that something was a physical trait.

The divorce was a problem they didn't need, but Liv and him were good. They were the unofficial, undefeated king and queen of spin. They could handle this. The Governor could consider this handled.

"Okay, Liv and I will take care of it. I'll go to bat for you governor" Cyrus said

"Thank you, Cyrus," Fitz said soberly; gratefully.

Cyrus turned to Liv "I'll have Jennine pencil in some time for us to come up with a plan to get ahead of this" he said "the press is going to go for the jugular".

Liv nodded. Fitz noticed she still hadn't uttered a word. She stood seemingly frozen in place.

Cyrus opened the door and walked out heading back to his office.

The room remained silent even after Cyrus's absence.

Finally, Fitz stood up walked over the to the now open door and quietly shut it. He walked over to where Livvie stood staring at him and stopped in front of her.

Olivia looked into his eyes and saw the emotion she sometimes glimpsed when they were having sex. It petrified her so she usually looked away, unable to deal with the unbarred emotion she found reflected in those beautiful grey eyes.

Today was different, she didn't look away.

Fitz smiled and opened up his arms. Olivia quickly stepped into them. They stood still wrapped in each other's arms silently trading a multitude of emotions.

Happiness, fear, melancholy, passion; and most importantly…. Hope.

Xxxx


	11. Chapter 11 - Looking for Trouble

**Chapter 11**

 **Looking for Trouble…..**

Fitz and his Stephen were having dinner at what had become their usual spot, The Vienna Towers. Stephen had scheduled the dinner to discuss the outrageous demands Mellie's attorney, David Rosen, had forwarded him in response to the more than fair settlement Fitz had offered her.

Her attorney David was an old friend and had brought the counter offer to Stephen in person. Stephen thought he had seemed embarrassed to be delivering the obviously outrageous brief. Poor bastard, Stephen thought. He could only imagine what it was like being Mellie's lawyer and being at the mercy of her whims. He hoped Rosen was billing her out the ass for the aggravation. Then again maybe not. Mellie's money was currently Fitz's money.

"She wants what?" he asked incredulously. He had known Mellie would be going for his nuts, but this was off the wall. Stephen repeated the atrocious amount of money she was demanding and Fitz felt his blood boil.

"If she thinks…" Fitz started. Stephen quickly interrupted. He didn't need Fitz going off halfcocked. He had everything in hand. Well almost everything.

"Calm down, Fitz" Stephen said "This is Mellie being Mellie. We knew she was going to come at us hard. Its too early in the process to be losing your shit" Mellie was a barracuda, she didn't leave her kill with any meat on the bones.

Fitz sighed feeling a headache coming on. He thought he had been prepared for Mellie to put him through the wringer; he was wrong.

"I know we've talked about this before, and you didn't want to go this route, but we need to consider letting my investigator loose on her. We need to find something to make her act reasonably. Otherwise…she can drag this out for months Fitz"

Fitz stared at Stephen. When they had first discussed filing for the divorce, Stephen had wanted to sic the firm's best investigator, Diego "Huck" Muñoz, to track down dirt on Mellie. If anyone could bring him the right information to deal a death blow to Mellie, it was Huck. He had done it before on countless divorce proceedings Stephen had handled.

Once they found something useable, they could use it to force Mellie's hand and bring her to the bargaining table in a more practical frame of mind.

Fitz had firmly refused. Stephen had been irate at the directive. A divorce arena was not a place you wanted to pull punches. Divorces were battlegrounds and honorable guy Fitz had no place in this war. He needed pissed off, incensed Fitz to have a fighting chance against Psycho Mellie.

"I didn't want to do this…the kids…" he said voicing his concerns. No matter his feelings for Mellie, she was still the mother of his children.

"We'll try and keep them out of this as much as possible." he told Fitz reassuringly. Sensing he was still hesitating Stephen presented a comprise "Tell you what; how about we let you vet the information before we use it to bring her to the bargaining table, deal?"

There was a pause, then Fitz nodded. Stephen felt a rush of adrenaline.

 _Good. Now I get to go in fully loaded to fight a barracuda named Mellie._

Glad that Fitz had agreed to the Investigator Stephen moved on to the next item of business.

"Fitz…I have to ask. You and this Olivia. How serious is it?" Stephen broached delicately "You need to know that Mellie and her people are going to use this woman against you. Has there been infidelity on your part?"

Fitz was quiet looking down at the stark white linen tablecloth; Stephen watched him fidget with the sterling sliver fork on the table.

"It's not infidelity" he said

"Good, that means we can..." Fitz interrupted Stephen. He needed to clarify.

"Stephen, it's not infidelity. Its love. Olivia is…Olivia is the love of my life" Fitz said. He looked over and saw the stunned look on his friend's face.

"If there was any infidelity it was only on my part. I cheated myself by not waiting for this amazing woman to show up in my life, Stephen" Fitz paused then continued.

"As for whether it serious…let's just say I need you to get me this divorce so…" Fitz faltered trying to put his words together without coming across as a besotted fool.

"I need to be divorced, so I can put a ring on the finger of the woman I should have married. The woman who should have been the mother of my children. The woman who's made me believe that I can actually be happy again" so much for not sounding like a besotted fool.

Uncomfortable with how much he had shared, he looked up from the fork and half smiled at Stephen.

"…And yes, I am sleeping with her. Every chance I fucking get" Stephen gasped and both men burst out laughing. Fitz was glad for the lightener mood in the conversation.

"Wow" Stephen said, amazed "Must be some woman"

Fitz smiled but said nothing in response.

The remainder of the dinner was lighthearted. They talked about their law school days and their sleepless nights fueled by enough coffee to keep a small country awake for days.

As the evening progressed they expressed regret at having neglected their friendship. They had been _boys_ and they should have worked harder to stay in touch.

Two hours later they both decided to call it a night. Fitz reached for the check, but Stephen quickly stopped him "Trust me, once you see how much I bill you for my services, you will have no problem letting me pick up the check for the rest of your life" he joked as they made their way out of the restaurant through a dimly lit hallway that led to the elevator banks and the parking garage.

Fitz laughed and pounded him in the back. Hard.

Unprepared for the friendly thump, Stephen jerked forward and barreled right into a woman who was exiting the women's bathroom that was located in hallway near the exit.

He felt the soft body he had slammed into surrendering to gravity and start heading towards the floor. He instinctively reached out to catch her and unfortunately for him one of his hands found purchase on her butt while the other grabbed onto slim hips. He knew he should move his hand but he was afraid that releasing her would cause her to fall.

Deciding her safety was of more concern than her modesty. Stephen tightened his grasp on her and quickly used his strength to straighten her out and steady her on her feet.

"Watch the hands asshole" a pissed off voice hissed at him. He quickly withdrew his hands from their inappropriate position and began to apologize

"Jesus, I am so sorry…I didn't see you… "

"No shit "the woman said interrupting his attempt at contrition.

"Are you okay?" Fitz asked the woman from his position behind Stephen. He was concerned that the woman might have been injured. They still couldn't see her face as her hair had come cascading forward after the hit and now covered her from their curious gaze. They watched as she pushed her hair off her face and both reacted contemporaneously.

Fitz in recognition "Abby!"

Stephen in shock. Wow. T _alk about gorgeous he thought._

Wait, did Fitz know this showstopper? Was this the famed Olivia? No, it couldn't, be he had called her Abby.

Fitz walked around Stephen to check on Abby.

"You okay, Abby?" he asked concerned placing a concerned arm around her.

"Hi Fitz" she said "I'm fine" she reassured him.

"I am really sorry about that I didn't see you there" Stephen said repeating his apology

"No harm, no foul" Abby said finally taking the time to look at Fitz's clumsy friend who had barreled into her.

 _Wow. Talk about hot._

"Abby I would like you to meet a friend of mine Stephen Finch; Stephen this is Olivia's best friend Abby…Oh my god, I don't think I ever found out your last name" Fitz said somewhat abashed

"Whelan. Abby Whelan." She said sticking out her hand to the hottie

"Nice to meet you Abby Whelan" Stephen said mesmerized by her. Stephen held onto her hand.

Abby smiled and waited; after a beat she spoke "think I can get my hand back, charm boy?" she asked

Stephen flustered and quickly released her hand.

"Thanks Stephen. I'm not trying to be uncharitable; I just think I might need to use it at some point during the course of the evening" she said a mischievous grin on her face.

Stephen blushed "Of course, I'm sorry…"

"Stop apologizing Stephen, its starting to grate" Abby said interrupting him, her mischievous smile still lit up her face.

Abby turned o Fitz "You headed up?" she asked Fitz. She had made the question deliberately vague as she didn't know who the hottie was or how much he knew about his boy's Fitz's business

"Yup" Fitz responded smiling. He liked Abby. Her fun, bold, brazen and unapologetic personality shone whenever she was in a room.

Abby turned her attention to Stephen "What about you, where you headed?" she asked boldly

"Um, home?" He answered as if questioning himself; As if he were unaware of his plans for the rest of the evening.

The bold, beautiful Ms. Whelan had him as flustered as a school boy with a crush on the teacher.

"Oh pooh!" Abby said. She looked at her watch. 11:30 pm on a Friday.

Yeah, there was _no way_ she was letting hottie Stephen go off home. She had already taken a quick peek at his index finger and noticed he didn't have a wedding band on. She loved Liv to death but she wasn't built for the drama of loving a married man.

 _He could have a girlfriend,_ she thought. Only one way to find out!

"No way, It's still early on a Friday night dude!" she said to Stephen "Say goodnight to the sexy Governor and come join me at the bar for a drink. What do you like Stephen?" she asked bold as ever.

"I beg your pardon?" he said confused

Abby smiled. _I beg your pardon! You had to love the British. So fucking polite!_

"What do you want to drink? Do you drink? I can get you something non-alcoholic if you don't?" The questions were fired out _à la_ Abby. Rapid paced without adequate time given to respond.

"Uh, Whiskey…neat" he said answering the only question he had managed to caught during her verbal assault.

"Now that's a man's drink, I like that Stephen; one whiskey neat coming up!" Without further ado she spun around elegantly and she strolled off toward the bar.

Stephen stood watching her disappear around the dimly lit hallway that led to the bar.

"What the hell was that?" Stephen asked looking like he just got hit by a Mac truck.

"That my friend was trouble; Fun, spontaneous trouble" Fitz responded smirking "So, man up and go have some fun!" Fitz prodded him

He laughed and walked off to the elevator banks, amused at the encounter he had just witnessed and happy that he was finally going to see his Livvie after a long day away from her. He couldn't wait to tell her about this new turn of events.

Stephen stood alone outside the women's bathroom gathering his thoughts, then took Fitz's advise and went off to the bar.

Looking for trouble.

Xxxx


	12. Chapter 12 - Mellie's Got a Secret

**Chapter 12**

 **Mellie's Secret…**

David Rosen sat quietly watching Mellie read the counter offer Stephen Finch had couriered to his office yesterday afternoon.

He would usually need to explain legalese to his clients whenever they went over legal documents, but Mellie Grant was no lay person. She probably had one of the sharpest legal minds he had ever come across in his fifteen years of practicing law. If she hadn't pursued the cliché of being a dutiful wife, she would have been an outstanding lawyer.

She was also bat shit crazy and an epically vindictive bitch. Two traits that would also have helped her in the courtroom had she chosen to take advantage of her degree from Law school; Harvard law at that.

He pitied Governor Grant, he could only imagine what it hell it must have been to be married to her for twenty fucking years.

"This is not good enough, I want more" she said after she finished reading the document.

"If he wants the children, tell him to give me everything I want or I go for shared custody" she said her lip curled in an unattractive sneer.

"Mellie, be reasonable. There is no court in the land that will give you ¾ of your husband's assets. You know this; you're a lawyer. You have to start being reasonable or this will have to play out in the courts and there is no way you don't come off as the villain if any of your demands go public" David said.

Mellie knew David Rosen was right, but the anger and fear she felt towards Fitz; towards everybody, had such a tight grip on her, she felt as if her heart would cease beating if she let it go.

"I don't care, I want…" she started to speak but was instantly silenced by a shout from David

"Mellie! You need to stop...for crying out loud, just stop!" David had reached the limit of his patience with the woman.

He paused trying to regain his composure.

"I'm going to leave now Mellie and here is what I need you to do; I need you to do some soul searching and think about what it is you really want. If you insist on pursuing a self-serving agenda to avenge yourself against whatever wrongs you perceive were done to you, then well… you need to find yourself a new attorney" David stood up from the table and continued

"However, if you do decide to pursue a valid balls to the wall divorce decree that sees you more than well compensated for the twenty years you spent with this man…then call me. I'll put my white hat on and go to bat and get you every reasonable demand you want the governor to concede on"

He paused to look her directly in the eye "Think long and hard, Mellie. What depths are you willing to sink down to and at what cost, because the game your playing now ends up not only destroying him, but you in the process"

Hoping that his message had sank through, David turned and walked out of the room.

Mellie sat watching the empty doorway where David had disappeared, lost in her thoughts.

She felt the panic rising. They didn't understand…she wasn't being a vindictive bitch…she needed the money!

She supposed it was all her fault. She had spent her whole adult life pursuing a selfish agenda to get everything she dreamed about having as a child. Her love of self, had ended up alienating her from everyone and now she stood alone trying to handle a crisis with no one to turn to. She had no friends, no family and soon no husband…

She had made good on all the promises she had made to herself when she lay in the bedroom of the derelict house she grew up in Georgia. But at what cost...

 **Twenty-five years earlier**

 **Hancock County, Georgia**

 _Most children, not all, went to bed with the assurance that they were safe and protected in their beds at night. Mellie however, went to bed with her dresser pushed up against the door to stop her step father, Ricky Wayne Crawford, from being able to access her bedroom._

 _She slept with one eye closed every night ,wondering if that night would be the night he finally managed to get through all the defenses she had built to keep him out._

 _If he got in…nobody would be coming to save her. Her mother was usually passed out drunk by 7 pm._

 _She had put up a valiant fight… but like all men he had finally gotten what he wanted. Something broke in her after the attack. Mellie had never been a lover of people before the attack, that tended to happen when being raised by a drunk, but after the attack she learned to loath them. She hated everyone; blamed them for not seeing what was happening in her house, blamed them for not coming to save her from the hell that had become her existence._

 _She had built an impenetrable wall around herself and her heart. The wall came fully fitted with a defense system that laid waste to her enemies. She knew the score, get them before they got you. Anyone perceived as a threat would be quickly handled._

 _The day after the attack; Mellie began to plan. She was going to get out of this back woods Georgia town if it killed her. However, she was only sixteen, she had two more years of high school she needed to complete. If she was going to survive those years with her sanity, she need to make sure her step father never did what he had done again. She needed to make him pay; and she had._

 _She had waited until he came home from his menial job, she forgotten what he did; it wasn't important, and had dinner waiting for him on the worn-down table they had in the kitchen. She had sat him down on one of the two non-matching chairs that flanked the table and fed him a hearty home cooked meal._

 _Ricky had liked that. Mellie's mother, Therese, was always too drunk to do most of her of her wifely duties. Lately, he had taken to thinking that her sweet little daughter Mellie would be a good replacement. She had fought him in the beginning, but the little filly was coming around from the looks of the meal she had just fed him._

 _Mellie sat quietly watching, as Ricky ate his supper._

 _She watched as he suddenly clutched his guts and vomitted all over the rickety table … watched as he took his last breath…watched as his head hit the table …looked at his open eyes, enjoying the terror frozen in them in death._

 _She waited until he stopped twitching before making her way over. She had learned to take vitals in health class; she placed her index and middle finger over his neck to feel for a pulse._

 _There was none._

 _Getting rid of Ricky's body was logistically easy, Georgia had more than its fair share of abandoned wells nobody had taken the time to seal or cap. However, she knew physically it would be a challenge._

 _Mellie had grabbed an old trap her real father had left in the shed out back and rolled Ricky onto it. She had grabbed a hold of the edge of the tarp and slowly and painfully made her way to his Ford truck parked outside. It had taken over thirty minutes to get him into the bed of the truck._

 _Once she had him situated, she had driven the beat-up truck with the shitty suspension to an abandoned well about twenty miles from her house; she pulled him off the truck and dragged him to the edge of the well. That had taken another forty minutes. Forty minutes where she cursed his fat ass every inch of he way._

 _She had hoisted him over the edge of the well and listened with satisfaction as his body hit the ground of the dry well floor. Sayonara, mother fucker._

 _She had driven back home, sweat pouring off her from the physical exertions of the night. She parked the truck at the back of the house and made her way back into the kitchen to clean up the mess Ricky Wayne Crawford had made. Once the kitchen was spotless, she had taken a pen and paper out of her school bag pack and sat down at the table, on the exact chair Ricky Wayne Crawford had drawn his last breath._

 _She wrote down the date as a heading on the loose leaf lined paper and spent the entire night coming up with a plan to get herself out of this Podunk town. She was only sixteen, but she had good grades and she was pretty sure she could get a scholarship to just about any college she chose._

 _Harvard, she thought to herself. I am going to go to Harvard._

 _It was an ambitious plan for a girl who came from a family that hadn't seen any member go past the tenth grade; but if anyone could do it, she could._

 _She was going to go to parlay her good grades and get into Harvard. Ivy league colleges were good breeding grounds for the kind of money she hoped to marry into so she wouldn't have to ever live through the week…the night she had just lived through._

 _Sixteen-year-old Mellie sat at the table and planned and planned and by when dawn's early light broke through the kitchen window she was exhausted, but for the first time in her life she felt she was in control._

 _A voice broke through her commiserations._

" _Where's Ricky?" She looked at the doorway to see her mother standing there with bloodshot eyes and a dirty nightshirt stained with god only knew what._

 _What a disgusting human being Mellie thought to herself. I would rather die than be like her._

" _He left" she stood up and walked out of the room._

* * *

The phone rang causing Mellie to jump and break her from the painful flashbacks of her childhood.

She walked over to the phone and picked it up. It was Cyrus. They had made a decision to release a statement to the press about the divorce. He wanted her to go into HQ to discuss how she was to respond to the intense media scrutiny headed their way.

"I already told you Cyrus, I am not playing ball until he gives me what I want in the divorce" she barked out. "If he doesn't give me the money I am asking for, I will go to the press and I will make such a scene…"

"Mellie..." Cy said frustratedly

She paused "Get me what I want Cyrus!" she yelled into the phone and hung up the line.

She needed that money! She needed it to save Karen!

Mellie was not under any disillusionment that she was a good mother. She wasn't.

She probably shouldn't have had children, she was to broken to be able to properly confer love on anyone.

Jerry and Karen had grown up with the same lot as her; They too had been borne to a deficient mother. It was probably the only thing she had in common with them.

Her children had fared better that she had. They had their Father; and he loved she was honest Fitz's open heart, love and affection towards the kids had made it easier for her to to emotionally abandon them like she had. One good parent was better than none right?

She had hoped that once she gave birth she would feel the love that most mothers said they felt towards their offspring, but she hadn't.

As soon as the kids were old enough she had shipped them off to an exclusive boarding school; glad to be rid of the guilt she felt for not being able to mother them.

They resented her and she knew it, but she was incapable of mustering enough energy to bring about a change in their attitudes. She had learnt to deal with the simmering resentment they directed at her; but then she had gotten a call…the call…

Her sins from Hancock County were coming back to haunt her and now her children. The threat towards her children had spurred her into action. It had surprised, the emotion she felt.

Maybe it was because she viewed her children as her possessions and therefore any threat to them was her indirectly a threat to her. Maybe….

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. No one and she meant no one was going to harm a hair on her babies' heads. The only way that would happen would be over their dead fucking body.

If Ricky Wayne Crawford Jr. wanted to fight she was happy to indulge him.

She would show him like she showed his daddy. She was not the bitch to fuck with.

* * *

Ricky Wayne Crawford Jr. sat in his car smoking a hand rolled cigarette watching the fancy Governor and his girlfriend eat lunch at a fancy restaurant a mile away from the Grant campaign headquarters.

Oh yeah, he thought to himself, the governor was defintately dipping his wick into the pretty black lady he was having lunch with. No doubt.

He had been following him for the last few days trying to determine if there was a fixed schedule that he followed, but he was disappointed that he did not.

He supposed that was to be expected. Campaigning meant the governor was never in one place to long; he was too busy walking around town shaking hands and kissing babies.

The fluid nature of the governor's schedule meant he was going to have to come up with a new plan. It was hard to damage someone who never stood still long enough for him to pounce.

He wandered if the Jezebel Mellie knew that her man was stepping out on her. Probably, she seemed the type to know and not care as long as she was getting hers. Bitch.

He frowned when he thought about the whore that had killed his daddy. Anger roiled through him when he thought about all the years him and his family had spent looking for Ricky Sr.

It was him who had finally solved the puzzle. He had paid a visit to her Mellie's mama's trailer and deduced that her daughter had done something to his daddy. Therese had been pathetic. The years of drinking had soured her bad. She looked like the crypt keeper. He remembered meeting her many years ago before his daddy had married her; she had been beautiful.

Mellie Grant had inherited her mama's good looks and she was doing a better job then Therese at maintaining them.

He was so lost in thought, he was surprised when he looked back at the restaurant and found the couple missing. He looked around frantically and was relieved to see them walking down the street towards the campaign headquarters.

He watched how they unintentionally leaned into each other and how the governor seemed to be hanging onto every word the woman said.

Oh yeah, those two were defintately fucking.

It wasn't information that was useful to him now, but he filed the little nugget away. You never knew when knowing something like that might come in handy.


	13. Chapter 13 - We're In This Together

**Chapter 13**

 **We're In This Together…**

Olivia stood at the back of the Historical Kaufman Astoria studios in Queen, New York and tried not to laugh as she watched Fitz interact with Oscar the Grouch on the set of Sesame Street.

The campaign was in NYC this week making the rounds on the morning and late-night talk shows. Olivia had scheduled the Sesame Street appearance because she knew it would play well with women. Most children's TV shows had an inbuilt audience of voting age women; mothers who would be tuning in to watch Sesame street with their kids and in turn those mothers would be able to see a fun, relatable candidate that they could throw their support behind.

They would also be getting a close and personal look at the very good-looking Governor. Fitz was hot and they needed to use that to their advantage. She had made him dress in blue because she knew it would bring out the steel grey of those beautiful eyes.

She felt a little guilty. As if she was whoring him out, but hey she thought to herself:

 _Why shouldn't the general public partake of the visual feast that was Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III?_

Cyrus and Olivia watched as Fitz and Oscar talked, well Oscar grouched and Fitz talked, about running for the President of the United State of America.

The bit was fun and Fitz played his part fantastically. She and Cyrus smiled at each other. Both of feeling pride as they watched him.

When they were done Cyrus, Olivia and Fitz headed back downtown to the Four Seasons Hotel where they were staying.

Olivia felt a burst of joy as she looked out the window of the town car and saw the familiar streets she had left months before to move to California.

She missed New York. In some ways it was like coming back home.

They got back to the hotel at around 3pm and only had time to quickly change before they headed back out to the limo that had been sent by NBC Studios to transport them to the film the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon.

The taping went well, Fitz was charming and funny. He did a good job selling the narrative they had been pushing forward during the entire campaign; Yes, Fitz was a republican, but he was a different kind of Republican. He was hoping to be the new face of the GOP. Make the party more inclusionary but still adhere to the principals of the party. Fiscal conservatism, free markets and fiercely defending everyone's second amendment right.

The appearance on Fallon was their last stop for the day so they headed back to the hotel. Everyone was exhausted. They had been out of the hotel at 3:00 am to make it to the CBS studios to film CBS This morning and it was now close to 7 p.m.

Fitz was exhausted. He had been "on" for hours now and all he wanted was eat and sleep. Hopefully with Olivia in his arms.

They stopped briefly at the lobby to discuss what to do for dinner and decided to have a working supper in Fitz's suite despite their exhaustion. Cyrus and Olivia were booked into Junior Suites at the hotel, but the Governor was booked into the Royal suite which was 2,150 sq. ft of luxurious space. There would be plenty of room for them to spread out and get some work done.

Oliva headed to her room to take a quick shower and change into comfortable jeans. She pulled on a short-sleeved tee and a comfy sweater to ward off the evening chill.

She grabbed her laptop and walked to elevator banks, quickly making her way up to the Fitz's suite.

Cyrus was already seated at the dining area with his laptop and with papers strewn all around the table. He had also changed into jeans and a comfy sweatshirt.

After throwing out a quick greeting to Cy, Oliva paused and looked around at Fitz's suite. The Royal Suite. Her only thought? _Holy shit._

So, this was how the one percent lived. She walked around the space and marveled at the high-end furnishings and the panoramic city views the suite offered. She needed to ask Jeannine how much this cost when she got back to HQ. She would bet it would blow her mind.

"Damn Cy" she said. Cyrus, who had been watching her walk around the room chuckled.

"This is nothing Liv. Upstairs is the 4,300 sq. ft Ty Warner Penthouse that is available for you to book for a measly 50 grand per night" Olivia turned to stare at him amazed.

"I wanna be rich, Cy" she said jokingly

"You and me both Kiddo, you and me both" they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Anybody want to share the joke?" Fitz asked walking into the room from what she assumed was the bedroom. He was still dressed in his suit from the appearances as he had taken time to order them room service and also call the kids.

"Nope" Cy and Liv said smiling at each other. Fitz was part of the one percent. He wouldn't understand.

"Okay" he said drawing out the word. Curious as to what they had been discussing.

"Food is on the way up. Could one of you sign for it? Just write in the tip" with that he headed back towards the door he had come from presumably back into the bedroom where the master bath was.

Twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door. Liv let in the room service attendant as he wheeled in an enormous amount of food. She wrote in a generous tip and the attendant smiled at her gratefully before taking his leave.

They decided to wait for Fitz before digging into the food and he thankfully joined them five minutes later. Olivia was starving.

They decided to eat first. They set themselves up in front of the TV watching the news feeds. Olivia parked herself on the floor while Fitz and Cy took the couch.

The news touched upon the candidates. Fitz was in NY and Sally Langston was in Wisconsin campaigning.

Once they had finished they headed back over to the table to work. Running campaigns had changed over the years. The key to knowing your position was by using big data.

Data analytics allowed them to make informed decisions. It let them know if they were hitting the targets they wanted. Were the voters responding to the messages and ads they were putting out? What states did they need to hit harder? Most of the answers could be found in the data they sourced.

Despite their exhaustion they worked late, until Cy decided to call it a night around 11:30pm

"I promised James, I would call him before midnight, see you in the morning"

"Goodnight Cy" Olivia and Fitz said as they watched him leave.

When Cy was gone Olivia looked over at Fitz and found him watching her intently

"Hi" she said smiling

"Hi" he smiled back

"Come here" he commanded softly.

She stood up from the dining room chair and backed away facing him, a naughty grin on her face.

"Uh, uh" she said refusing. Olivia was in a contrary mood. Fitz was going to have to work hard for it tonight.

Fitz looked at the naughty smile on Olivia face and quickly caught on to the game she wanted to play.

"Come here Livvie, if I have to ask again I am not going to be happy"

"Too fucking bad" she said obstinately.

Fitz smiled and before she could blink he was out of his chair and rushing towards her. She tried to make a run for it but was not quick enough. He quickly caught her around the waist hoisted her up and over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

Olivia laughed and beat on his back in mock protest "Fitz, put me down!"

"Nope" he said and entered the bedroom of the suite. He didn't stop walking until they got to the bed where he unceremoniously threw her down on top.

"Hey, watch it Mister" she said using her sternest tone

"or else what…?" he asked unintimidated

Olivia was about to respond but quickly lost her train of thought as Fitz pulled off his Navy shirt.

Damn.

She had been dating him for months now so you would think she was immune to looking at that chest and those six pack abs, but she wasn't. Every time she saw them her heart skipped a beat.

Fitz reached out and grabbed her leg and pulled her to the edge of the bed where he sat her up. He grabbed her sweater and pulled it off then reached for the hem of her T-shirt to rid her of it.

Feeling like she wasn't done aggravating him, she quickly moved away from him and shimmed across the bed to the other side.

Fitz made a grab for her but this time she was too quick. She stood across the wide expanse of the bed and smiled at him mischievously.

"I am not easy Mister. If you want me your going to have to catch me"

Fitz smiled through his frustration. Okay, if Olivia wanted to play he could play…

"Livvie, if I have to chase you around this bedroom so that I can fuck you, I am not going to be very happy; and you will get no mercy when I do catch you" he threatened. His voice deepened by his arousal.

Liv's breath caught at his sexy words

"I'm shaking in my boots, Mister" she answered his threat saucily. She stopped bent down took of the Keds she had been wearing along with her socks

"Bring. It. On." She challenged.

A fiendish smile broke over his face. This was going to be fun.

He made a move to the right pretending to make a move to intercept her. Olivia reacted as he expected her to. She quickly jumped on the bed to make her way across assuming that he would be going around to grab her she was wrong. Fitz had faked her out!

He quickly grabbed her as she crawled across the bed and Olivia screamed and laughed as he spun her around and laid her flat on the bed, placing his heavy body on top to hold her captive.

"Gottcha" he said smugly

She laughed and lifted an arm to strike him playfully, but he quickly caught her arm and pulled it up above her head. He reached down and grabbed her other arm and brought it up to join the other.

Fitz had big hands and he managed to clasp both of her small wrists in one hand and pin her arms above her head.

The playful mood in the room suddenly dissipated. Fitz looked into Olivia eyes. His head descended slowly and he kissed her softly; and then not so softly.

Olivia lifted her legs up and wrapped them around Fitz's waist.

The kiss took on a life of its own. They rolled around the bed fully clothed eating at each other. Savaging each other's mouths.

Fitz broke the kiss and quickly raised up on his knees. He pulled Olivia up until she sat up and quickly whipped off her t-shirt. He made quick work of disposing her of her bra, jeans and underwear. When she was naked he quickly worked on divesting himself of his clothing and then quickly got back on top of Olivia. She moaned when she felt him come on top of her.

Skin to skin... nothing in between….Just how he liked it.

Olivia felt herself melt as Fitz laid on top of her. He buried his face in her neck and worked his way up to her ear where he whispered to her.

Olivia's body bowed as he whispered to her how much he wanted her, how good her pussy tasted, how much he loved pushing inside her tight body. The sex words flowed over her like warm molten lava. He hadn't even touched her and she was on the verge of coming from his provocative words.

He moved away from her ear and searched out her mouth. Grabbing her mouth with his roughly. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and began melting her down with his erotic kiss.

Olivia wrapped her legs around his waist and returned the kiss. Fitz's hands moved from her neck down to her breasts he took both her nipples and pinched them lightly causing her to moan into his mouth.

He tore his mouth from her sexy pouty lips and worked down her throat to her breasts and took a peak into his mouth. He licked her nipples with his tongue, enjoying how they pebbled and became hard; responding to the attention he gave them.

He took his time playing with her breasts…the left…then the right. Fitz was a breast man and he could have stayed there for hours taking his fill.

He moved his way down to her flat taut stomach and then lower to her already dripping wet pussy.

He was obsessed with the taste of Olivia. She was like some heady, expensive wine that he couldn't get enough off. He opened her with slow wet lazy kisses, filling his senses as he ate at her.

Olivia moved against Fitz's mouth and felt her orgasm build.

 _No, she thought; this is not how this happens Mister, not this time_

Fitz was concentrating on the very pleasurable task of making Olivia come when she suddenly shimmied herself up the bed and away from him

"Liv…? " he said surprised. Had he hurt her?

She reached for him pulled him up to her face and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. She pushed at his shoulders and rolled him over until he was on his back.

Fitz was always so… giving whenever they had sex. It was her turn to reciprocate. Her turn to make him loose his mind.

Fitz complied and laid flat on his back and watched as Olivia quickly climbed on top of him straddling him.

"Liv…" he said again

"Shhh" she said silencing him. She brought her head down and kissed him.

She slowly worked her way down his body kissing his hard pecs before working her way down licking down the delineated muscles of his spectacular abs, before making her way to his hard cock.

Fitz felt Livvie's breath on him and wondered if he could survive having her mouth on him. He had dreamed about having those full lips around his cock for so long...

Liv grabbed the thick root of his cock and began working her hand slowly up and down. Fitz gasped and closed his eyes trying to shut out all his other senses so he could concentrate on how good she was making him feel.

He heard her moving around positioning herself and then he felt her hot little tongue lick up his shaft.

"Fuuuck" he groaned out. He was right; there was no way his heart could take it. He was going to die…

The thought trailed off as Liv sucked him into her mouth.

"Oh God, Livvie" he moaned as if in pain. She ignored his plea for mercy and went back to driving him wild

She moved down his thick erection taking him as deep as she could which wasn't easy; there was so much of him. Olivia moved up and down on him, working him into a frenzy. She stroked around the head with her tongue and slipped him back into her mouth, establishing a rhythm that had Fitz helpless. His whole body shook as the pleasure swept up his body.

It soon became too much

"Liv…Livvie stop. Inside you, I want to come inside you"

Olivia wanted that to.

She pulled his very engorged cock out of her mouth, licked him from root to tip and then and worked her way back up his body, raining kisses along the way. His chest was moving rapidly up and down as he panted, overwrought from the pleasure she was giving him.

She straddled him and reached down between their bodies. She lifted herself up, placed him at the entrance of her body and slid down his length.

They both gasped. Liv threw her head back and savored the feeling of Fitz filling her.

Fitz was frenzied at this point, he needed to come. Bad.

He grabbed a hold of her hips and began moving her against him. Olivia leaned forward, grabbed hold of his shoulders and pushed him back into the bed. This was her show, she was running it.

"Ride me Livvie" Fitz begged "Ride me…"

Olivia obliged. She lifted her hips and began moving up and down his hard cock. Olivia was lost now too, chasing the orgasm she felt building.

Fitz needed it harder. He loved the way Liv was riding him but he was slowly becoming unhinged by the pace. He needed it harder…faster

His control finally snapped and he grabbed Liv's waist and in one powerful move, placed her under him and pushed into her without pause.

Liv moaned out loud as she felt Fitz's hard cock slam deep into her.

There was no holding him back now, he had given into the madness. He held Liv down and pushed into her over and over again. Each thrust so powerful it moved her up the bed until she was flush with the headboard with no where else to go.

Liv heard everything go quiet in a head and then she was there, she was coming like she had never come before. The orgasm seemingly tore her apart. She felt like a flower having its petals pounded by a powerful rainstorm.

Fitz felt Liv come, her pussy gripped him tight and spasmed and clenched on him over and over again. He knew he was about to climax and he felt his consciousness begin to fade. He exploded.

He grabbed a hold of Livvie's hips that were wrapped tight around his waist and pulled her into him with all his might. He held on to Liv as the climax battered him. He was in a storm and Liv was the only anchor that could keep him place. He knew he should ease up, knew she would be bruised in the morning but he couldn't loosen his grip.

A minute went by before he became aware and exhausted he fell atop Livvie panting like he had just run a marathon.

Holy shit. He had never had sex like that before…it was indescribable. They hadn't yet made a word to describe the level of pleasure Liv gave him.

He gathered what little strength he had and rolled of her. He looked back over to her. Her eyes were shut tight and she too was panting, trying to catch her breath.

Liv lay still next to Fitz twitching with the after shocks of an orgasm that had to have registered on a seismograph somewhere in the world. That hadn't been sex…that had been something out of this world. She felt as if she had been torn apart and then put back together but in a different configuration.

Fitz reached down and grabbed the covers while pulling Liv into a cuddle. He gently placed the covers over their cooling bodies.

Fitz had known for a while how he felt about Liv. He had wanted to share his feelings with her for months. Hell, he had wanted to tell her after a week.

He had planned to make it special when he finally told her; but as it was oft to happen whenever Liv was involved. His plans were quickly forgotten and abandoned. He had to tell her. This was the moment.

He reached down to place a hand under her chin and bring her gaze up to his.

"I love you Liv. I'm in love with you"

She smiled at him with tears in her eyes

"I love you. I'm in love with you too" she responded back

He lowered his mouth and kissed her gently

"So, we are in this together?"

She nodded "We're in this together"


	14. Chapter 14 - Cy Knows

**Chapter 14**

Huck was trailing Mellie Grant… but, he wasn't the only one.

He had noticed the amateur following the soon to be Ex Mrs. Grant a week before. It was obvious that whoever the guy was he wasn't a professional.

He was surprised the woman hadn't noticed the beat up pick up truck following her through all the fancy places she travelled as the Governor's wife.

It hadn't taken long for him to find out who the guy was. He was driving his own car, registered in his own name.; if that wasn't an amateur move, he didn't know what was.

Ricky Wayne Crawford Jr.

A little more digging and he had found the connection between Ricky Wayne Sr. and Mellie Grants mother.

Her online biography stated that she was born in Georgia and that both her parents had died young. That was a lie. Her father had run off on her mother when she was 10 and her mother was an alcoholic who lived in a backwoods county somewhere in Georgia.

A dig into her financial records had revealed the mother. Mellie had a standing order at a little know bank and sent the woman three grand a month. The money was probably sent to silence the mother…and to kill her. There was no quicker way to send an alcoholic into the goods lords' arms then providing them with enough money to drink themselves to death.

Mellie's mother had a strong constitution though. She had been drinking hard for twenty years and was still alive. She looked like death warmed over, but the old broad was still going. That had to be driving the Governor's wife crazy.

The discovery of her mother and connection to Ricky Wayne Jr. was enough to forward along to his boss Stephen Finch to use as ammunition during the divorce; but he hesitated. Something told him that there was more to this story. Instincts honed over years told him to stay on her; and so, he did.

* * *

Cyrus couldn't believe he had been so blind. They were sleeping together. Fitz and Olivia were sleeping together!

They were at the La Guardia waiting to catch a flight from New York back to California when he saw it.

He had fallen asleep the night before talking to James and hadn't had a chance to charge his cell phone before they left the hotel and headed to the airport.

After they checked through security, he had left his luggage with Fitz and Olivia and headed to the far wall to charge his cell phone at one of the many available work stations.

He had been leaning against the wall people watching, when he had looked over at them and seen…it. Fitz's lips were moving as he spoke to Olivia and she was leaning forward to catch what he was saying and as he watched them he just knew.

They were sleeping together.

Shell-shocked he had stayed at the charging station until the announcement that their plane was boarding. Thankfully the three of them were seated in different seats and they all spent the flight working in their individual seats.

They landed in California at around 11 am and decided to take the rest of the day off to recover from the grueling trip and get back to HQ tomorrow.

Cyrus was glad for it. He needed to get his thoughts together. Whom should he confront first, Fitz or Liv? How long had it been going on? And the most important question of them all; why the hell hadn't they told him!

* * *

Cy got to HQ early. He was the first in the building.

He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. The anger he felt at Fitz and Olivia had gone from a simmer to a full-on boil! The steam was practically pouring out of his skin.

James had tried to calm him down but it hadn't worked

" _Maybe its none of your business" James had said after he finally tired of hearing Cy complain_

" _Not my business! Not my business! I am trying to get that asshole into the fucking White House James. Everything he does is my business!"_

" _Don't speak to me like that Cy!"_

So, on top of everything else he had ended up fighting with James. As if he had need another reason to be angry with the two love birds. If it was even love…

He heard the front door of HQ beep indicating that someone had come in to the office. He peeped out his office and was disappointed to see Jeannine heading towards her desk

"Hey Jeannine" he said compelled to follow social norms despite his anger

"Good morning, Cy" she responded perkily

"Could you let me know when the governor gets here?"

"Sure Cy" she said

That was another decision he had made during his late-night rage fest. He was going to confront Fitz first. Fitz got to go in front of the firing squad first; then he would go after Liv

His office phone buzzed and he quickly picked it up

"The Governor is here Cy" Jeannine said

"Thanks Kiddo" Cy responded and quickly hang up the phone. He stood up walked out of his office towards Fitz's office

Fitz was hanging up his coat on the rack located at the back of his office when Cy walked in and shut the door.

Fitz turned at the sound of his door closing and looked at Cy.

Uh oh, he thought when he saw his campaign managers red face.

"I know" Cyrus hissed out

Fitz paused confused for a minute and then caught on. Ah, so Cy new about him and Olivia.

"Who told?" Fitz asked calmly

"No one. I finally stopped wearing blinders and saw it" he gritted out

"Cy you need to calm down…" Fitz started in an attempt to soothe Cy, but he was having none of it.

"What in the hell are you two thinking! Do you know the shit storm this would cause if it got out? I have enough to worry about Fitz without having to deal with a slutty candidate. Couldn't you keep it in your pants until the divorce was final…of all the stupid, idiotic….

"Shut up Cy!" Fitz yelled halting the lecture. "I'm still your fucking boss and you will treat me with some goddamn respect or get the fuck out of my office, understood" Fitz said angrily.

Cyrus had a lot more to say but he heeded the warning and kept his mouth shut. Both men were silent as they stared at each other.

Fitz broke the silence

"Its not an affair Cy. I'm in love with her…I love her" Fitz told him "As soon as the ink dries on my divorce, I am putting a ring on her finger and making her mine. Olivia is going to be my First Lady, Cy"

Cyrus remained silent processing what Fitz had said to him.

"How long has it been going on?" he asked

"A while…couple of months. Don't blame Liv, Cy. I initiated it…I pursued her" Fitz said

Cyrus felt his rage cooling down. He walked over to the nearest chair and sat down.

Fitz followed his cue and walked over from the coat rack to his chair taking a seat.

"I'm getting married" Cyrus suddenly said "I asked James to marry me"

Fitz was stunned. He had no idea things had gotten so serious with James. _Guess me and Liv are not the only one keeping secrets._

"Congratulations Cy, I am happy for you"

"Thank you, Governor, I am scared out of mind. He is high maintenance, high strung and completely opposite of me…but I love him" Cyrus said letting out a humorless chuckle

"Then you should be with him Cy" Fitz responded reassuringly.

"Fitz…I know I can be tough on you, but you need to start keeping me in the loop. First the divorce, now this thing with you and Liv…I would have understood. I would have helped…whatever, I don't know" he stopped talking his thoughts jumbled as he tried to explain what he needed to say to Fitz.

"I would have understood…" he repeated softly.

Fitz suddenly felt guilty. Cy was right. He should have told him about Liv. Cyrus Beene had been nothing but supportive and a good friend and he had repaid him by keeping knowledge from him that would help him do his job effectively

"Cy, I am sorry. You're right I should have told you. No more secrets, from now my cards are on the table" Fitz said sincerely

Cy smiled. He believed the Governor

"Thank you Fitz. You're not hiding some illegitimate child somewhere that's going to spring up and bite me in the ass, are you?" Cy joked

"God no! The children are all legitimate, scouts honor" Fitz responded smiling

"Well thank god for that!"

Both men laughed. A soft knock sounded on the door and they both turned as Liv came walking in.

"What's up?" she said smiling. She looked at both men and her smile slipped

"Shit, is something wrong? Is it Sally?" she asked jumping to conclusions

Cyrus stood up smiled walked over to Liv and pulled her into a hug.

Liv stood frozen in place, confused. _Why was Cyrus hugging her?_ _Cyrus was not a hugger…_

He pulled back looked her in the eye "I'm happy for you Liv, for both of you"

He turned and walked out of the room leaving Liv confused

"What…?" she asked turning to Fitz

"He knows"

"How…Oh, my god who told him?"

"Nobody told him Livvie, he figured it out"

Liv stood silent her thoughts racing a mile a minute. If Cyrus could figure it out without anyone telling him that means that anyone could. She felt panic set in.

Fitz reading her mind stood up, walked over to the door and shut it. He walked over and pulled her into his arms.

"It's okay Livvie, I don't want you to worry about it, remember we are in this together…right?"

She sunk into his arms and nodded into his shoulders, but she couldn't help but worry.


	15. Chapter 15 - Shattered Pieces

**Hello fellow FanFicitioner's and Olitzers!**

 **Thanks to everyone who is taking the time to read this fanfiction; This is my first attempt at writing anything that was not related to educational pursuits!**

 **I want to apologize for grammatical errors, inconsistencies in the story and in the timelines and for any other errors I make. Mea Culpa :)**

 **I will be going back to old chapters and fixing the errors along the way. Thanks again and I will now take a cue from _my_ Fitz and take a moment to say this; There isn't a word yet invented to describe his love for Liv; and there isn't a word yet invented to thank all of you for your support!**

 **Humbly yours,**

 **Isa Samms**

 **XoXo**

 **P.S – No worries. Mellie Grant will defintately get hers!** _ **"There's a natural law of karma that vindictive people, who go out of their way to hurt others, will end up broken and alone…"**_

 _ **Sylvester Stallone**_

* * *

Cyrus, Olivia and Fitz scheduled a late meeting at HQ. It was late and all the staffers had long since gone home. They had planned it that way. At some point the new developments would need to be shared with the campaign aides, but they first needed to come up with a plan.

"Okay" Cyrus said "We have two problems we need to start getting ahead of:

1\. The divorce -we need to be the one's to put the story out first. We don't need the public to find out about it through a leak

2\. Olivia – At some point after the news of the divorce dies down, we need to have this relationship go public"

Cyrus had been writing on the white board as he spoke.

"Not sure I like being described as a _problem,_ Cyrus" Olivia said somewhat annoyed

"Too bad Liv, the minute you two crossed _that_ line, you became a problem" Cyrus said. He wasn't in the mood to soothe imaginary slights when they had two colossal issues to fix.

"Okay, let's start with the first. The divorce. Fitz, any word from Stephen?" Cyrus said taking a seat at the conference table.

Fitz nodded "Stephen says his guy Huck, has something on Mellie. His asking for a couple more days to put it all together"

"Good. We need to get moving on this. Like I said we need to be the ones to announce the divorce. If this comes out through the rumor mill, the press will go on the offensive and it won't take them long to dig up your relationship with Liv" Cyrus said

"I have a question" Olivia suddenly said out loud. She looked over at Fitz and Cy

"Why isn't Mellie setting all this on fire?" she asked

Cyrus and Olivia looked at her puzzled. Liv clarified

"Look we all know Mellie. I am finding it hard to believe that Fitz asked her for a divorce and the _only_ thing she wants is money? The Mellie we know should be on TV opening your closet, airing out your dirty laundry, she should be trying to get full custody not because she wants Jerry and Karen, but because she wants to fuck you over every which way" Olivia paused

"I see this differently guys. The fact that she is only asking for money is the red flag here. Not the ridiculous amount of money she is asking for"

The room fell silent as they thought about what Liv had said. She was right. Why was Mellie only asking for money? She should have been demanding his left nut for a divorce. That was more in speed with her personality.

Fitz felt a cold sweat break out across his body. Fuck.

"You think it's something that would affect the campaign?" Cy asked

"Of course, it's something that would affect the campaign Cy" Olivia snapped out

"Mellie has the upper hand right now. If she goes on TV and plays the aggrieved wife she could destroy any chance Fitz has at the White House. So why isn't she doing that?" Olivia said

"We need to hire our own guy to start looking into her. We need to know what she is hiding, and believe me she is hiding something. Stephen Finch's guy might be good but Mellie is still the first lady of the state of California. His not going to be able to dig as deep as we would like him to. We need to hire our own guy and Fitz can give him access into his and Mellie's lives to find out, what's happening" Cyrus strategized

Olivia nodded "Agreed. Who do we know that is discrete and get this done quickly?" Liv asked

"I know someone" Fitz said finally chiming in to the conversation

"He's an old Navy buddy of mine and he is now a private investigator. I'll give him a call"

"And he is trustworthy? We need to be sure that he doesn't run to the press with whatever he digs up on Mellie" Cyrus said always mistrustful.

"I trust Jake with my life, Cy. He is the right guy for this job" he averred confidently

"Okay, give him a call in the morning. Please stress to him the time sensitive nature of the assignment" Cyrus added.

Fitz nodded

"Okay and now the second prob…" Cyrus paused remembering Liv's issue with the problem label he had conferred on her.

"The second issue we need to deal with is the affair. I am hoping you both agree that we can't go public with it for a while. We need to let the news of the divorce break and cool off before we let people know about the two of you"

"Wait a minute Cy…" Fitz interrupted. Cyrus held up his hands

"Listen. Both of you. If you go public with the relationship at the same time or right after news of the divorce then the press will leap to the conclusion that the divorce was precipitated by an affair between the two of you. Then this doesn't become a love story we can sell to the American public. It becomes the old story of the young whore breaking up a happy marriage by flaunting her wares to a horny older man"

"Cyrus!" Fitz said angrily. Olivia reached out to place her arm on top of his

"Cyrus is right, Fitz" she said sadly "If we go public too soon everyone is going to think that we had an affair and your only leaving Mellie to be with the new toy that has turned your head. I'd get painted as the cliché gold-digging whore who broke up a happy marriage by spreading her legs…I can't have that happen Fitz. My professional image is too important to me" she finished off quietly

Fitz remained quiet. He was angry. The repeated mention of Livvie as a "whore" infuriated him.

"Fine" he gritted out "How long would we have to wait?" he asked

"Hard to tell. That not something we're going to be able to determine until we see how the divorce plays out in front of the press and the public"

Fitz didn't like that. He was ready to be done with this chapter of his life. Ready to move on and start building a life with Olivia.

"Okay, I think we have a game plan" Cyrus said. He stood up took his phone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the white board in the conference room where they had been jotting down their notes and strategies. Once he had the picture he picked up the eraser and quickly wiped out the board, leaving it spotless.

Oliva and him often did this when they wanted to strategize and keep things private until they were ready to release them

"Balls in your court, or to be specific, in your guy Jake's court; we need to shoot for releasing news of the divorce within a week. The press is already starting to wonder why the two of you are not making any campaign stops together" Cyrus said

The meeting broke up shortly after with Cyrus headed home to James and Olivia headed home to wait for Fitz. He usually went home changed into nondescript clothing, changed out cars and headed back over to her loft.

* * *

It wasn't an easy move on Mellie's part. In fact, it rankled. She never gave up, never surrendered. She always had another move, more cards hidden up her sleeve that she pulled out just when the house was about to declare victory.

Not now. She had nothing.

She knew she needed help. Ricky Jr. had become too big a problem for her to handle.

He didn't have concrete proof that she had murdered his daddy, but while questioning her mother, Ricky had found out about Karen.

 _Damn that fucking drunk!_ Mellie said thinking about her mother. She should never have let her anywhere near the process. _Never trust a fucking drunk, she thought_. All they cared about the liquor.

Well now Ricky Jr. knew about Karen and she would do anything to make sure no one found out about Karen. She would be finished if anyone found out…finished…

Mellie stood in the master bath of the governor's mansion looking at her face in the bathroom vanity. Dark circles under her eyes and red blotchy skin from over indulging in her moonshine. She had been doing that a lot lately. Nothing got you to forget your problems faster that 100 proof liquor brewed in the back-wood distilleries of Georgia.

She wasn't happy with the amount of alcohol she had been drinking lately. Alcoholism run strong in her family tree, look at her mother. She needed to stop or she was in danger of heading down the same dark path her mother currently languished in.

She walked out the bathroom to her closet, opened the door and walked in. She looked at the mountains of designer clothes hanging off the racks, the expensive pocket books, her wall of ridiculously expensive shoes…and for the first time in her life felt empty as she looked at them.

What did it matter that she had all this, she was still…unhappy. She had everything she had wished for as a child and more, but…Mellie was miserable.

It was her own doing, she had done this to herself. A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly brushed it off in surprise. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried. She hadn't even cried when Ricky Wayne Crawford had…well she hadn't cried.

She walked over to her expensive blouses and pulled out a sedate button down black shirt. She paired it with black pants, black shoes, black jacket…. all black. It felt fitting. Something was happening to Mellie, she was changing; a new person was emerging.

It felt fitting to wear black. To mourn the person, she needed to leave behind.

When she was ready she looked at herself in the mirror grabbed her purse and headed out. She typed an address into the GPS of her Lincoln MKC and started the drive. The pre-programmed voice informing her that she would be at her destination in twenty minutes.

Her thoughts continued to assail her as she made her way across town to her destination. She slowed down when she got to the correct street and looked at the houses in the upper middle-class neighborhood she was currently driving through looking for number 27.

 _There it is. It was a nice house, but then again, she wouldn't have expected any less from him._

She turned the rearview mirror towards herself and gave herself a final once over. _Good enough._

Steeling her nerves, she jumped out of her car and made her way to the front door of the Tudor Bungalow. She took a deep breath and knocked

Less than thirty seconds later the door opened.

"Mellie…, what…what are you doing here?!' he said astonished to find her standing at his door.

"Hi Cy…I need your help…please…"

Cyrus looked at Mellie Grant, paused for a minute and then stepped back to let her in. _Well, he thought this is definitely going to be a stunner._

* * *

Cyrus walked back into his living room with a tray of freshly brewed coffee and set it on his mahogany coffee table. He made quick work of serving Mellie hers; black, two sugars. He poured himself a cup next.

"What's going on Mellie, what can I do you for?" he said with feigned cheer.

Mellie took a sip of her coffee while she tried to work up the courage to do something she had never done for as long as she could remember; ask for help

"I like your house Cy, it suits you" she said delaying the inevitable with small talk

"Thank you, Mellie. That is very kind of you to say" Cyrus responded

"What the hell do you want Mellie" Cyrus finally said. He had a rare Sunday off and he did not want to spend it talking to crazy ass Mellie Grant

Mellie opened her mouth to dress him down but caught herself. She took a deep breath. She needed his help.

"I need your help Cy, I am being blackmailed. I've already paid…I've paid close to two hundred thousand dollars and they won't go away"

Cyrus looked over at Mellie, but didn't speak. He had a lot to say but he had a feeling that he had only gotten a snippet of the story.

"I did a lot of bad things before I married Fitz, Cy. My chickens are coming home to roost. I'm not going to pretend that I don't have insight into what is happening to me now. I caused this to happen…Everything that is happening now is my fault" Cyrus continued to be silent, letting Mellie lead him down her scary path of reasoning.

"I am not going to pretend that I am ready to face the consequences for the bad things I have done. I am not; in fact, I am fighting like hell to not face them. I usually wouldn't involve you but the person who is…doing this…is" she hesitated

"Spit it out Mellie" Cy said loosing his patience.

"They are going after Karen too. They are going to destroy me… and Fitz and Karen"

Cyrus noticed how she mentioned Fitz and Karen as an after-thought. Typical Mellie.

"What's the dirt Mellie? What do they have on you?" Cyrus asked wearily. He almost didn't want to know. He knew whatever it was it would change everything for the worse.

"Karen…Karen isn't Fitz's child, Cyrus" she finally whispered. Cyrus stared at Mellie horrified.

"What…?"

"She's not mine either Cy. I am not Karen's mother. I…I stole her…I stole her when she was a baby"

Cyrus felt the floor drop from underneath him. It was even worse that he could have imagined. Who the fuck could have imagined this!

"Mellie…what…where the hell did you get her from Mellie?!" he yelled

"I…I…"

He walked over to her and asked her again threateningly "Where did you get her Mellie?"

"Georgia, I took her from Georgia" she said her voice breaking.

 _Fuck…Fuuuuck!_

"How…why?!"

"Fitz was going to leave me! He kept pushing for a divorce and I couldn't have him do that Cy, I needed him!" Mellie sniveled.

Cyrus felt light-headed ; this was beyond the pale. He knew Mellie was crazy but this was…he didn't know what this was...actually he did know what it was, it was a fucking distaster!

He turned around to face her and felt sickened. He couldn't deal with this right now, he needed her to leave before he strangled her. He had never been so sure of his ability to end someone's life as he was now.

"Get the fuck out of my house Mellie!"

"But Cy…"

"Get the fuck out of my house Mellie, right fucking now. Go home and don't say a word to anyone, understood?" he ordered

She nodded picked up her purse and ran out the door.

Cyrus heard his front door close. How the fuck was he going to fix this? This was not fixable; No one could fix this!

He turned around picked up the ten-thousand-dollar Baccarat crystal vase he had gotten as a parting gift when he left Georgetown and threw it up against the wall where it shattered into a million pieces.

He looked at the broken pieces of glass on his gleaming hard wood floors and felt they were sign, the pieces portending the future. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III, chances of getting to the White House fragmented like the vase.


	16. Chapter 16 - How do We Fix This?

**Chapter 16**

Cyrus's anger hadn't cooled down much during the work week that followed his conversation with Mellie.

By Friday he was done stewing and he placed a call to HQ as he left his house in the morning. He asked Jeannine to let Fitz and Olivia know that he would be coming in late.

They would probably assume he was off doing an errand related to his and James upcoming nuptials _. If only_ , he thought.

He was on his way to meet Mellie. God help him.

Knowing that Mellie was a psychopath was one thing; having a front row seat to the freaking madness was another.

He had arranged to meet her about an hour's drive north at a cabin he had inherited from his father. He knew that whatever story Mellie was going to relay to him, he would need complete privacy to listen, process and absorb the details.

He tuned into NPR as he drove up to the cabin. The news feed was as expected. Nothing new reported, no scandals breaking. That was good.

He pulled into the cabin and was gratified to see Mellie's car parked in the small driveway. He had been worried that she would change her mind at the last minute and not show for the meeting.

He had given her the code to the door and he walked in to find her sipping a cup of hot tea while staring out at the beautiful vista the front window showcased

"Mellie" he said.

She nodded but remained silent. He took his coat off, never taking his eyes off her.

He made his way to the chair closest to her and spoke.

"Everything Mellie. Tell me everything, by god if you leave even one tiny detail that I find out about down the road…." He left the threat open-ended. He didn't need to say anything else.

Mellie nodded again. She had known Cyrus for years, she knew not to poke the bear. So, she took a deep breath and told him.

She told him everything.

* * *

 **Hancock County, GA**

 **Fourteen Years ago, ...**

Mellie was hiding from Fitz.

Fitz had started pestering her about them taking a break from their marriage. She knew he wasn't happy. He had started working longer and longer hours at the law firm and the only time he seemed to smile was when he was with Jerry.

His eyes lit up to a thousand watts whenever he was with Jerry.

"Mellie, you're not happy and neither am I" he had told her over dinner one night

"It might be a good idea for us to take a breather. Give ourselves time to seriously think if we are willing to put in the work needed to get this back on track"

Mellie had flatly refused. Fitz was good looking, rich and successful. If she let him off the marriage leash for even a second, she had no doubt some woman would be waiting in the wings to scoop him up. Like she would ever let that happen!

Fitz had tried to sweeten the deal by saying he would move out and take Jerry with him. Mellie was no doting mother. She could only stand to be with Jerry for five minutes before her irritation set in.

He had come home one night when Jerry had been around five months old to find the baby crying in the crib red faced while Mellie took a nap in the guest bedroom. The room furthest away from the nursery room. Jerry had been crying for so long, tears no longer rolled out the babies' face.

How long had he been crying! Fitz had thought angrily. He had taken Jerry, bathed him and soothed him to sleep. He had spent the rest of the night holding him in his arms, rocking him hoping to make up for the neglect he suffered at his mother's hands.

He had taken the next day off work and had interviewed three nannies and hired one by 3 p.m. The woman he hired had been under strict instructions. NEVER, ever leave Jerry alone with Mellie.

That had been perfectly okay with Mellie. As a matter of fact, it was downright wonderful, she had thought. He had talked about separation then to; but she had talked him out of it.

Fitz had cut back on his caseload at the Law Firm, he started working more from home. He became the primary caregiver for the baby while Mellie played the part of the rich man's wife.

Jerry was five years old now and he wanted out. He needed to get him out of the house before his mother's lack of affection started having a real effect on the kid. He knew that asking for a divorce outright would have caused Mellie to have a meltdown so he had come up with what he thought was a workable solution; a legal separation while they worked on their issues.

Mellie had no interest in working on their issues. As far as she was concerned they had no issues. The kid was being taken care of by the nanny and she and Fitz got to do whatever they wanted. If aint broke don't fix it had been her thought.

It was broken; Mellie had just been to narcissistic to notice.

She hadn't worried about Fitz's request for the separation until he had come home with the paperwork for the separation. The agreement was more than fair. Fitz would retain primary custody of Jerry and provide Mellie with spousal support, child support and child visitation.

The monthly alimony and child support allowances had been more than equitable. Fitz's lawyer had even balked at the amount he was offering Mellie, but Fitz had been adamant about keeping Mellie in the lifestyle she had become accustomed to once she became a Grant.

The paperwork had brought Mellie out of her fog of denial. Fitz was serious, he wanted to legally separate from her. She couldn't let that happen.

Mellie didn't think that things could get any worse, but she had been wrong.

Shortly after Fitz had handed her the paperwork, she had received a call on the burner phone she kept hidden from Fitz.

It was her mama back in Georgia informing her that the fifteen hundred dollars she sent every month just wasn't cutting it anymore. She needed more money wired to her monthly.

As Mellie listened to her mother blackmail her; she had heard a voice in the background whispering "…ask the bitch for five grand a month or we'll go tell her fancy husband everything"

Mellie seethed. Obviously, her mother had a new boyfriend who knew that Therese's daughter had married a rich lawyer and was on hand to supply cash whenever she needed. Why couldn't the bitch just keep her mouth shut!

Mellie had told her mother that she would see what she could do and she would call her back.

That night she had sat in the kitchen drinking and plotting. Very much like the night she had taken Ricky Wayne Crawford Sr. life, and once again by dawn she had come up with a plan.

She had decided to take care of her mother once and for all. She was done having that drunk bitch get in the way of her getting hers. She would deal with Fitz and the separation once she had taken care of Mama.

Mellie had left the house early in the morning the next day. She left before Fitz, Jerry or even Nanny Jenny awoke. She had made only one stop, she had crept into Nanny Jenny's purse and pulled out her ID. Thank god we have the same color hair, Mellie thought.

She left a note saying that she was headed to the spa for a week to rejuvenate herself. The lie wouldn't raise any eyebrows she often left without explanation.

It was usually to head off to spend time with her lover Andrew, but this time she was headed back where she had sworn she would never go. She was headed to Hancock county, GA. The prodigal daughter was headed home.

Once Mellie got to Atlanta's Hatsfield-Jackson Airport she had checked into a nice boutique hotel using the nannies ID, she has flown in as her as well, and then rented a car to make the approximately two-hour drive to Hancock.

She had wanted to rent a luxury model, but she knew showing up with a nice car to her mother's house would only have brought on more problems. She had instead settled for a plain nondescript sedan.

She had gotten to her old neighborhood in the late afternoon and parked off in the distance to watch the house. It took a couple of hours but she finally saw a disgusting pig of a man, her mother's new boyfriend she assumed, exit the house and drive off in her mothers old beat up Buick.

She reached into the back seat grabbed the bag she had brought with her and made her way to her mother's house. She turned the front door knob and was gratified when the door swung open. Somethings never change she thought, people still left their doors open around these parts.

"You back already Joe?" she heard her mother say

Mellie followed the voice into the living room and took a step back when she saw her mother. Therese had been a beautiful woman once, she wasn't anymore.

She stared at the skeleton seated on the chair with dirty matted hair and gasped. Her face was puffy in contrast to how slight her body was. Eyes bloodshot, broken capillaries on her skin…Rheumy eyes…Mellie had to fight the urge to look away from the horror show in front of her.

"Well look what the fucking cat dragged in" her mother rasped out. Mellie noticed the missing teeth as she sneered up at her.

"What the hell have you done to yourself, Mama?" she asked rhetorically. She didn't need an answer, she knew what she had done. Mama, had chosen the easy way out. Instead of fighting to get what she deserved in this world, she had given in and turned to he bottle. Pathetic.

"Don't come in here judging me bitch…now what do you want…you got my money?" she reached for her menthol cigarettes as she posed the last question to Mellie

Mellie wanted to yell and rail at her mother but she didn't know how much time she had before the loser her mother was dating made his way back. She needed to do what she came here to do.

She reached out and grabbed the tiny pistol she had hidden in her bag. She pulled it out and pointed it at the gutter trash that was her mother.

"I can't keep having you blackmail me Mama, I have a good thing going on and if you think I am going to let you ruin it your fucking crazy" she said.

Her hand was steady as she pointed the gun at her mother. She had no compunction about shooting the pathetic creature in front of her; even if it was mother.

The menthol cigarette fell from her mother's mouth, a look of terror on her face

"Mellie, please don't…I'm your mama! You can't...you can't kill your own mother! That's the kind of sin you don't come back from baby" her mother pleaded.

"You can't actually think that tripe would work on me mama. You spent your whole life ignoring me and letting the men you brought in here do whatever they wanted to me. I have no loyalty to you bitch. I'd sooner pity a dog on the street then you" Mellie said vehemently, all the anger she had for the woman came rising up.

"I am happy now with Fitz, and if you keep coming at me his going to leave me…he already wants to leave me…I can't have him leave me, Mama…" Mellie said her chest heaving with emotion

"Let him leave you baby, he's rich! You can divorce the cocksucker and come home to your family" Therese said clutching at straws

"You actually think I would come back to this shit town? I live in California Mama! I need to keep him with me, I need to stay married to Fitz…I can't have you ruin it mama. You have to die"

"Mellie no… wait baby!" she said desperately "I know how you can get him to stay with you, just have another baby with him, do what you did the first time…trap him…"

"Don't you think I have thought of that you bitch? Something went wrong when I had Jerry, I can't have any more babies"

"I can get you a baby…put down the gun and we can talk, sweetheart. I can get you a baby" her mother said hoping to break through the madness she saw in her daughter's eyes.

"what do you mean you can get me a baby?" Mellie said

"Joe, my new man. He can get you a baby! He has a niece whose pregnant and doesn't want the baby. We were going to help her get rid of it with the money you gave us, but now she doesn't have to, you can have the baby"

Mellie paused the gun still trained on her mother. She swirled the idea around in her head and the more she thought about it the more she liked it. If she managed to make Fitz think she was pregnant then he would have to stay with her.

Fitz was honorable. He would do what he had done before; he would stay with her for the sake of the baby.

"You just have to make him think your pregnant and hide yourself from him for eight or nine months. That's all, baby. We both know you can do that" she said cajoling. Therese had noticed the gun lowering as she presented the option to her daughter.

"How far along is the girl?" Mellie asked

"Not too far, that's why we was going to get rid of it now" Therese reassured.

Yes, this was it. This was the answer to all her problems. She could pay her mother to get her the baby and threaten to expose her for selling the baby if she ever tried to come back and blackmail her; and once she presented Fitz with a new baby, well he would stop talking about separations or god forbid divorcing her.

"Okay mama. I'm going to tell you exactly how we are going to do this. You and Joe are going to make sure she has that baby and that it is healthy. In exchange, I will double your allowance to three thousand dollars" Therese opened her mouth to protest but Mellie quickly cut her off

"You aint getting no five grand from me bitch. We both know you could live off five hundred dollars a month in this Podunk town" she said sneering looking around the disgusting house. She continued

"If I don't get that baby in eight months, I am going to come back here and finish what I started here today, do you understand? "Therese nodded, cowered by the manic look in her child's eyes.

"I am serious mama. I may do it myself or pay someone to do it, but it will get done. You cross me and you won't live long enough to regret it. I can make you disappear just like I did Ricky Wayne" she said

Her mother's eyes widened. She had always assumed that Ricky Wayne had walked out on her like everyone else did. She had thought he had been kinder than most leaving his pick-up truck to Mellie as a gift.

"That right mama, he didn't leave willingly, I sent him to hell and I will not hesitate to do the same to you, understood?" she said smugly.

Her mother nodded obediently.

"Now I will also give you some extra money to give to the girl in exchange for the baby. You make sure that the money goes to the girl and not Joe's pockets, are we clear?"

Therese nodded again. Self-preservation kicking in. Mellie was not to be trifled with.

Mellie had walked out of the trailer and back to her rental car to drive to make the drive back to Atlanta. She stopped at her hotel to pick up her clothes and checked out. The hotel staff puzzled at the woman who had checked in two hours earlier checking out. She headed back to the Hatfield-Jackson Airport and took the earliest flight out to California.

She needed to get back as soon as possible to seduce Fitz. She needed to make sure everything was in place for the new addition to their family.

Four months into her fake pregnancy she had found out from her mother that the girl was hesitating about giving it up for adoption to Mellie. She had started to feel an attachment to the unborn child and wanted to keep it. She had even offered to return the ten thousand dollars Mellie had greased the wheels with.

Mellie was livid. She cursed and threatened Therese who quickly gave in and agreed to do whatever she needed to do to get Mellie the baby.

When the girl was almost due, Therese had accompanied her to the doctors on the guise of caring about her health and welfare. While at the doctors she had gleaned the facts, Joe had told her to get. The due date and the sex of he baby.

It was a girl due on March 15th; she ended up coming early. She was born on the 12th.

Six pounds, four ounces and twenty-one inches long. She was beautiful the girl thought as she looked down at her new born baby girl.

Four days later a news story broke in Hancock County. A new born baby girl had been stolen right out of her mother's trailer. Police were on the hunt

Three days after a very _pregnant_ Mellie walked into a McDonalds off the interstate and met a man who handed her a car seat with a tiny package mewling inside. She handed him an envelope full of money and the two went their separate ways without saying a word to each other.

Mellie could not have been happier. Faking being pregnant around Fitz had not been easy. He was the kind of man who wanted to be involved in everything to do with his unborn baby girl. He wanted to feel the baby kick…wanted to go with her to her doctor's appointments.

It had not been easy but she managed to foist him off by pretending to be hormonal and hostile.

Fitz got a call later the same day. Mellie had been out shopping when she had gone into labor. She was in a fancy California birthing center and had given birth to a baby girl.

The questions to any follow up questions he may have asked where well- rehearsed.

There hadn't been enough time to call him to bear witness to the delivery… the baby had come to fast…. That sometimes happened with the birth of a second child…Both mother and child were perfectly fine they reassured him.

Fitz had grabbed Jerry strapped him into his booster seat and rushed to be by her side at the birthing center. He had tears in his eyes when he saw Mellie holding a beautiful baby girl.

They called her Karen.

Mellie was released from the birthing center a day later and the new expanded family went home to enjoy the new baby.

No one was suspicious when an anonymous donor made a contribution to the birthing center. They were able to finance the building of a new wing on the south side of the property.

How fortuitous.

* * *

Cy sat is stunned silence as he listened to Mellie talk about the lengths she had gone to keep Fitz in her clutches.

When she had finished recounting all the dirty details he stood and walked over to the windows looking out but not seeing anything. Only playing the details of Mellie's immoral behavior over several decades.

"I had to get out of that town Cy, I was dying there…and after the Ricky Sr. attack…I had to get out" she said trying to flood him with excuses for all the unscrupulous things she had done.

"Mellie don't get me wrong, I am sorry for the wrongs you have suffered but everything that happened to you is an explanation for who you are…. but it's not an excuse for the things you've done" Cyrus sighed

"There is no excuse for the things you've done Mellie, so stop trying to justify or explain it away"

Mellie had no response to Cy's truthful words.

"What do I do here, Cy?" she asked pensively

"I don't care what happens to you Mellie" Cy answered her tersely

"I do however care what happens to Fitz. This…this is going to destroy him" Cy said sadly

"I know you don't believe me Cy, but I never meant to hurt him"

"I don't want to hear it Mellie…and your right I don't believe you."

Cyrus turned from the window to face her.

"Your going to give him that fucking divorce and your going to do everything I tell you to do so that I can try to fix this for him; and I am warning you Mellie if you go off script for even one second…" Cy paused tamping down an anger he hadn't thought himself capable of.

"If you go off script, if you make one unreasonable demand, if you do ANYTHING I deem to be detrimental to the process of ridding you from our lives; I will take you apart, understood" he waited for Mellie to nod in acknowledgment

"I will stop trying to control the rage and the hate I feel against you and I will come after you like a fucking tornado. I will make sure you go to jail, I will make sure you serve a lot time, I will make get you disbarred so you cant fall back on your law degree and lastly I will make sure everyone in the world knows just how evil you are so that the only job you will ever be able to get to support yourself will be behind a McDonalds counter " Mellie gulped at the multitude of Cyrus's threats.

The conviction in Cyrus's voice was like nothing she had ever heard.

So, Mellie knowing how to take care of Mellie nodded and acquiesced. She wasn't stupid enough to go toe to toe with Cyrus.

Cyrus reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

"I need to see you in the office. Can you meet me at HQ in the morning…and Liv…I need you not to tell Fitz" Mellie watched as Cyrus talked on he phone.

"This is face to face information Liv, I'll see you at HQ in the morning" and he hung up the phone.

He turned his attention back to Mellie. He didn't even attempt to hide the disgust he felt.

"Go home Mellie. Tomorrow morning you get your ass to HQ at 7 a.m. and make sure that Fitz doesn't find out about this" he turned his back to her; dismissing her.

Mellie stood and left her now stone-cold tea on the table. He heard her car start up and the crunch of the gravel as she drove away from the cabin.

Cyrus sat quietly thinking to himself.

What the hell were they going to do?!


	17. Chapter 17 - Do You Know Who I Am

**Chapter 17**

 **Do you know who I am…**

 _She got to HQ at 7:00 am on the dot, the agreed upon meeting time with Cy._

 _She had left Fitz passed out cold in bed. She smiled superciliously knowing she was responsible for his exhaustion. She had pulled out all the stops during their lovemaking the night before and in the early dawn hours, he had finally cried Uncle and fallen asleep._

 _She wished she could be in bed curled up next to him, she was just as exhausted as he was. Fitzgerald Grant was nothing if not thorough when it came to seeing to her pleasure._

 _She made her way into the building. The lights were on and she figured Cyrus must already be in his office waiting for her. She walked down toward his office but stopped short when she heard multiple voices floating from the conference room._

 _She detoured and headed to the meeting room. Once she entered, she was shocked to find multiple familiar faces seated around the table._

 _Apart from Cyrus; Mellie, Hollis Doyle and Verna Thornton occupied seats around the table_

" _What the hell is going on?" she asked in a whisper_

" _Seat down Liv, we need to talk "Cyrus said somberly_

 _Liv walked on unsteady feet to the nearest chair and sat._

 _Thirty minutes later she sat in stunned silence and absorbed everything Cyrus had just shared with her. The room was silent watching her process the news. She turned to the group, fighting back tears_

" _We need to fix this for him…How do we fix this for him?" she asked._

 _No one answered._

 _They all sat quiet. Unable to see a way through._

* * *

"You know Mellie" Hollis said looking at her across the conference table "You are proof positive that the devil doesn't walk this earth with pointy horns and a tail. Devil thy name is woman!"

Hollis turned to Oliva and Verna "No offense intended to the both of y'all"

"Fuck you, Hollis" Mellie hissed

"No thank you darlin, quite frankly I wouldn't deep my wick in your poison for all the money in the world" he drawled out.

Cyrus sensing that the two were about to escalate into a full blow fight interrupted

"Can we focus on the business at hand…Liv, what do you think our play is here?" Cyrus said looking at her; they all turned to look at her

Liv hadn't said a word. She was still taking it all in…trying to process everything Cyrus had just told her

The silence stretched and finally she spoke. To Mellie.

"You are going to turn yourself in. Your going to take your repellant, repugnant self to the nearest police station and you are going to turn yourself in" her voice was quiet; menacing. No one dared to interrupt.

"They are going to lock you up, throw you into a dark hole and no body will ever think about you again. Not your children, not Fitz…no one! I will disappear you, do you understand me?!"

She didn't wait for a response. She turned to look at Cyrus

"This is non-negotiable; if that bitch isn't in handcuffs and in a fucking jail cell within the hour… I will go to a police station myself and tell them EVERYTHING! That evil bitch is done, do you hear me Cy?!" she said vehemently.

Olivia stood and walked out of the office while the rest of the group just stared silently.

She walked out to her car and drove back to her apartment in a daze. She found her parking garage without remembering the entire drive back to the Vienna Towers.

Her phone had been ringing constantly during the entire ride. Cyrus's number flashing across her console over and over again.

She sat in the car in the parking garage, staring at nothing; the phone rang again. It was Cyrus calling. Again.

She pushed the pick-up button on her steering wheel.

"Liv, don't hang up okay…just listen. If she goes to the police right now they will cuff her and Fitz will be done…no White House, no more politics. It will mean taking away the only thing he has ever wanted to do with his life. He couldn't take that Liv…I will not do that to him!" Cyrus sighed heavily into the line

Olivia remained silent.

"Liv, she's already taken away so much from him…let's not let her take this from him as well…Liv talk to me!"

She continued to sit silentlly; tears rolling down her face.

"Liv if you tell him, he will throw it all away to get her punished and then what? He will have nothing left…Help me fix this Liv…Liv, please!

"Cy…I need time" she said "I don't want to lie to him…then I would be just like her!" she cried

"No, you wouldn't Liv, we are going to tell him…we just need to _not_ tell him right now! You know Fitz, if we tell him right now he will be at the Police Station or flying to Georgia to fix things"

It was true, Oliva thought. Her man; Fitz the honorable. They didn't have to guess what he would do.

Fitz would do the right thing. It would destroy him but he wouldn't hesitate to right Mellie's wrongs. God, she hated that bitch!

Mellie had been draining the life out of Fitz for twenty years and now when he was almost free…this.

Cyrus was right, she hated to admit it but Cy was right. They couldn't let her do any more damage to him. Finding out that Karen wasn't his….it would break him.

"Fine Cy, I won't tell him…for now; but if we can't find a way out of this within the next few days…I'm going to have to tell him Cy."

"That fair Liv, just give me a couple of days to fix this" Cyrus said gratefully

"Cy, I need you to look into the woman in Georgia, we have to find out if she still out there looking for her daughter…I can only imagine…" A fresh wave of tears fell down her face.

How that woman must have suffered! She could only imagine the horror of having a baby torn from your arms, never knowing what happened to your child…Mellie's level of apathy was beyond comprehension.

"I already have someone on it, I should have all the details by tomorrow morning. I have someone vetting every goddam thing that bitch told us to make heads or tails of what's true or false"

 _Good,_ thought Olivia. If Mellie told you the sky was blue it would still behoove you to go out and check for yourself. She was about as credible as a two-dollar bill.

"She doesn't get away with this Cy, this is the final straw. She pays for this. If you don't do it I will. I will abandon everything to make sure she never enjoys another fucking thing for the rest of her fucking natural life. Understood?" she said

"Understood, thank you Liv" Cyrus said.

Olivia wasn't interested in hearing Cyrus thank her for agreeing to lie to Fitz so she pushed the hang up button and sat in the car for another hour, trying to get herself together enough to go up to her apartment and face Fitz.

No, not only to face him; but to lie to him.

* * *

"Hey, I woke up and you were gone" Fitz said when Olivia walked into the loft.

Fitz was stretched out on her couch watching the news when she walked in carrying coffee and bagels from the Vienna's Café located on the first floor of the building.

"I decided to go out and get some breakfast, I figured you might need to carbo load after last night Mister" she winked at him and headed to the kitchen.

 _Oh my god, I don't think I can do this! She thought. It took all her strength to not run back into the living room and tell him everything!_

"What did you get? Fitz asked following her into the kitchen.

"I got a couple of wheat, plain, onion and an everything bagel. I wasn't sure what you would be in the mood for" she said pulling the bagels and the cream cheese out of the bag.

Fitz came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her

"Mmhh. What if I am in the mood for you?" he said his sexy voice traveling down her spine as he pulled her hair to the side and started to kiss her neck.

"The only thing I want for breakfast is you Livvie" he reached down and unsnapped the top button of her jeans

"Fitz…."

"Shhh Livvie, let me make love to you" Fitz whispered huskily into her ear.

There was so much she wanted to say, but she didn't. Instead she let him lead her into the bedroom.

* * *

Fitz headed into Stephen's office. Stephen had scheduled a meeting with him to discuss the information his investigator Huck had found out. As they had discussed, he was going to present the information to Fitz first to vet and see if he was willing to use it against Mellie to push her into signing off on the divorce.

He was cautiously optimistic. _This might be it,_ he thought to himself, he might finally be free of Mellie. Free to pursue the life he wanted with Olivia.

The receptionist recognizing him and stood up before he had a chance to approach her and mention his scheduled appointment with Stephen.

"Governor" she smiled "Come this way, Mr. Finch and Mr. Munoz are waiting for you in his office

"Thank you" he replied politely

He followed her to a pair of wide double doors; she opened one before standing to the side and letting him in.

"Fitz" Stephen said standing and coming around his ostentatious desk to greet his friend. They shook hands and Stephen turned around to introduce him to the intense looking man standing next to a potted plant in Stephen's office

"Fitz this is Diego Muñoz a.k.a. Huck"

Fitz moved forward and met him halfway. The men shook hands.

Stephen had a miniature conference table set up in his large office and Stephen directed him toward the it, asking him to take a seat.

"Can we get you something to drink? Water, Coffee" Stephen asked

Fitz shook his head "Let's just get on with it. What did you find?" he asked

"Fitz…" Stephen struggled to find the words he needed to tell his friend.

"Fitz" he started again "Huck got enough information on Mellie to make her go away…but there are things we have found that are going to be very painful for you" Stephen took a deep breath.

"I would do anything to not have to tell you what I have to tell you…I just want to let you know that after you find this out, I will follow any directive you have. I will do whatever you need me to do…" Stephen said earnestly. His heart ached for Fitz. When he found out...

Fitz stared at Stephen, noting the strained look in his face.

"What did you find Stephen, what has she done?" Stephen's only response was to push a folder in front of Fitz.

Fitz stared at the folder. He felt apprehension course through his body. Whatever was in there was bad. He could tell by looking at Stephen's face.

He looked up at Stephen and then back at the Folder. There was no going back now he had to know.

Fitz read every word on every page. Some words he read over and over again as if unable to understand basic English.

He looked over the photographs. The pictures of Karen's real mother…Karen's real family; and finally, he looked at the pictures of Mellie, Cyrus, Verna, Hollis…Olivia.

He read the transcripts of calls Huck intercepted. Transcripts that outlined Olivia and Cyrus's betrayal. He looked over everything. Sometimes with the detached eye of a Lawyer and others with the emotionally devastated eye of a father, husband, and a lover who had been betrayed.

When he was finished he pushed aside the folder and looked up at Stephen and Huck. They had sat silent while he read the file. It had taken him over an hour and neither of men had moved. Only watched. Watched as Fitz's life felll apart. Word after Word. Picture after Picture.

"I want a DNA test immediately to find out if that woman is the real mother" Fitz said suddenly with no discernable emotion in his voice.

"If Karen is hers we need her to know that…" his voice caught "...we need her to know that Karen is okay; Once the DNA confirms it I will tell Karen and we can take it from there"

Stephen stared at Fitz. He had been running different Scenarios in his head all day thinking about how Fitz would react to the news about Karen…Mellie…Olivia. He had imagined an angry Fitz; an emotional Fitz; but he hadn't been prepared for the Fitz who sat before him now.

He was cold. Detached. Stephen worried.

"What about Mellie?" Stephen said.

"She committed a crime Stephen, I want her arrested and put under the jail. Under the Jail!" Fitz said forcefully.

With that said, both men watched Fitz pick up the folder and walked towards the door. He paused after opening it

"...and Stephen, file the divorce papers before the end of the day"

He walked out and quietly shut the door behind him. Fitz looked over at Huck

"What do you think?"

"I think that is one very angry man and a whole lot of people are about to have hell rain down on them"

Stephen looked at the closed door and silently agreed with Huck.

* * *

Olivia had been trying reach Fitz all afternoon on his cell phone with no luck.

She had been out to lunch with several of the campaign aides and hadn't been in when he left the office. "He said he had a meeting, but he didn't tell me the details" Jeannine had told her when she asked if she knew where he was.

"Thanks Jeannine"

 _Meeting?_ She didn't think they had anything penciled in for him this afternoon. She walked over to Cy's office to see if he knew where Fitz was, but he was as clueless as she was.

Liv had tried to reach him several times throughout the afternoon, but had been unsuccessful. She finally decided to head home around five o'clock pm. She was exhausted.

The drive home was hectic, California traffic being what it was, and she didn't pull into her parking space until close to 6:30 pm

She stayed in the car long enough to make one more call to Fitz, no answer, and then headed up to her loft.

She opened the door and walked into the living room.

Fitz was there waiting.

"Fitz...why didn't you answer…" she stopped when she saw the look on his face. Something on her coffee table caught her eye it was a green Manilla folder. She looked up at Fitz.

"Go ahead and read it Olivia, I myself found the whole thing fascinating and Illuminating but it might be a little less interesting since you already know most of what's inside it" he said accusingly.

Olivia's heart dropped to her stomach. She didn't need to open the folder to know what it held. Fitz knew.

Fitz had found out about Karen. About Mellie and about her knowing…and not telling him.

"When did you find out Olivia?" he asked her coldly

"Fitz…I"

"Don't lie to me…when did you find out!" he yelled forcefully. Olivia felt herself stepping back from the force of his range.

"Three days ago, I found out from Cy three days ago" she answered truthfully.

"Why Olivia…?"

"Fitz…"

"Why Oliva? Why?!" he yelled

"I thought, we thought if we had time…"

"What would happen if you had time Olivia…Huh…what?" Fitz walked across to her as he asked the question

"If you had time you could what Olivia? Covered it up enough so that I would never find out?" he said bitingly.

"Fitz, no! Cyrus and I…we wanted to fix it, we didn't want it to destroy you and everything you've worked for…we just wanted to fix it for you"

"You don't fix ME Olivia; You don't handle ME!" he shouted

"I did this for you, I went against everything I believed in for you…you may not see it now, but Fitz…Cy and I did this for you…" she cried out

"I just spent twenty fucking years with a woman who lied to me about every goddamn thing including the fact that my daughter is not even mine. I told you when we started this that I needed to trust you! No lies Olivia, the only thing I have asked from you apart from your love was honesty and the first chance you have…you lie to me, you betray me…. about my CHILD!"

"Fitz…" he cut her off again

"We we're supposed to be a team Liv. It was supposed to you and me, but instead it was you, Verna, Cyrus, Hollis and …Mellie?!"

Olivia stood still and ashamed.

"Why couldn't you just have been honest with me?"

"I'm sorry… I made a mistake" she whispered

"This is over Liv. If I can't trust you. You ruined it…"

"I wish I could take it back"

"You can't Livvie…. Olivia, you can't take it back. I trusted you, you know…. you were all I had. You've ruined me. I'm ruined"

"Fitz, I don't know how many ways I can say it. I'm sorry"

"I don't care, I don't forgive you…I'll never forgive you" he answered dispassionately.

The room fell silent. She watched the anger dissipate from Fitz. The only thing left in his eyes…hurt. She would have taken anger any day over that.

"Goodbye Livvie"

"Fitz…I…" he ignored her plea and walked out the door. Out of her life.

All her strength left her body at the sound of the door closing and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing.

He was right she had ruined it. It was all her fault.

* * *

Cyrus was at home on his couch, cuddled up with James watching the news. Well he wasn't really watching, he was doing what he had been doing for the last three days.

He was trying to fix the cluster-fuck Mellie had made. An announcement on the TV broke through his thoughts

 **This is breaking news**

" _We are just receiving word from the Grant campaign Headquarters that Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III will be ending his campaign for the White House. The statement released this afternoon by campaign aide Quinn Perkins stated that the former Governor was withdrawing his candidacy to deal with personal family issues._

 _His departure comes as a surprise as the Governor was topping his opponent Sally Langston in the Iowa Republican Caucuses by 14 points"_

Cyrus watched in shock as the camera cut to Quinn

" _The governor would like to ask the Public to respect his privacy as he deals with personal family issues. The governor would like to thank all the people around the country who threw their support behind him and he remains humbled by the support he received from people all around this great country._

 _The governor remains committed to a life in service of the American public and in his commitment to fight for equal opportunity for all Americans._

Cyrus sat up straight listening; completely dumbfounded. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Fitz, no answer. He dropped the call and quickly dialed Olivia. The call was picked up, but she Olivia did not speak

"Liv…"

"He found out Cy…he found out" the dial tone sounded in his ear.

 **This is breaking news**

 _In another turn of shocking events we have found out that the Melody Grant the wife of Governor Fitzgerald Thomas Grant has been booked into the Sacramento County Jail on unspecified Charges. This is undoubtedly tied to the suspension of the Grant Presidential campaign…."_

Cyrus turned off the T.V.

"What going on Cyrus" James asked

"Its all over. Its all over, James" Cyrus said and walked out of the room.

* * *

 **Two weeks Later**

Fitz drove down the unfamiliar streets listening to the GPS direct him towards his destination. Jerry sat next to him and Karen was seated in the back seat nervously humming a tune.

Less than five minutes later Fitz pulled saw the sign he had been looking for.

Winding Willow Trailer Park.

The park was well kept. Window boxes full of flowers decorated many of the homes windows. American flags flew proudly in the Georgia Breeze.

He spotted number 12 and pulled his car in to the only available parking spot.

He turned back to Karen seated in the back

"You ready Kiddo?" he asked softly

"I guess. I'm nervous" she said

"I know baby, but remember I told you I am not going anywhere I am going to be right there with you okay?" Fitz reassured her

"Okay"

The three of them were barely out of the car when a pretty young woman who looked to be around thirty years old barreled out of the trailer, the screen door shutting behind her with a resounding thud.

She stopped and stood still at the stoop; she looked over at Fitz, then at Jerry and then at Karen. Her eyes froze when she landed on Karen.

She slowly made her way down the stairs and walked up to Fitz

"Governor, I'm Patricia… Trixie Doyle" Fitz found himself moved by the kindness in her eyes. There was no judgement or hatred in them.

"Its nice to finally meeting you Trixie" before he finished the sentence. Trixie had wrapped him in a tight hug and held onto him. He returned her hug awkwardly at first, but he soon pulled her close, moved by the kindness of this stranger.

He pulled back and she walked over to Jerry

"You must be Jerry; you are very handsome" Trixie reached out and grabbed him into her arms as well. Jerry reacted with the same surprise as Fitz had, but quickly returned her hug. It was hard to reject something offered with such care.

She finally made her way toward Karen. Fitz could tell it had taken everything she had not to run out the door push him and Jerry aside and grab her.

Nobody would have blamed her if she had; Trixie however was a kind, beautiful considerate soul and she was trying her best to put Karen at ease.

She walked over to Karen and bent down to meet her at eye level, tears streaming down her face.

"Hi Karen" she whispered to her. To her daughter

"Hi" Karen responded shyly.

"You are so beautiful. Do you know who I am?" she asked gently

"Yes…You're…You're my mom" A sob broke through Trixie's lips. She couldn't hold herself back anymore, she reached out and grabbed the Karen into her arms, hugging her as she cried.

Karen froze for a second but quickly returned the hug. She began to cry too.

Fitz and Jerry watched with tears glistening in their eyes.

After what seemed like forever, Trixie grabbed Karen and brought her over to where Fitz and Jerry stood. She grabbed them both and wrapped all it three of them in a big hug.

She pulled back after a minute and looked at both Jerry and Fitz.

"Thank you for loving my baby"


	18. Chapter 18 - A Life Refocused

**Chapter 18**

 **A life refocused...**

 **One Year Later….**

Fitz stood in the kitchen of his home in Palo Alto, CA when he heard his daughter Karen barreling down the stairs. Despite the heavy footfalls he knew it was Karen and not Jerry headed down the stairs of their new home. His daughter might have weighed all of ninety-pounds, but she was about as elegant as a drunken elephant.

"Daddy" she said as she came bouncing into the kitchen. Her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, her hair swung from left to right; a pendulum reacting to the animated pace of his daughter.

"Good morning honey, did you sleep well?" he asked bringing her into his side for a warm hug.

She nodded into his shoulder and then turned to look up at him her eyes shining from joy

"Trixie is coming today, daddy" she told him as if it were news he was unaware of. He smiled.

"I know, I will be picking her and George from the airport today at three o'clock and then she and I will pick you up from Lacrosse practice" he said sharing his plans with her

"Can I stay home from school and go to the airport with you?" Karen said pleading. Fitz turned to look at her and noticed she had turned on the puppy dog eyes in an effort to influence her father who was often putty in her hands

"No, you may not. You have a test today and you need to go to school. He kissed her on the forehead, turned her around and propelled her out of the kitchen.

"Now go get ready for school. I want you dressed and ready to in thirty minutes" he said in mock sternness.

"Fine" she groused and walked out of the kitchen with considerably less enthusiasm than she had walked in with.

Fitz chuckled as he watched her slink out of the kitchen.

It had been a year since Karen, Jerry and Fitz had met Trixie at the Winding Willows trailer park in Hancock County, GA.

Fitz had been on an emotionally terrifying roller coaster the entire trip to Georgia. He had been taking his daughter to meet her birth mother, but in doing so was probably giving her up.

The thought had made him despondent, but he didn't think he had much choice.

But then something miraculous had happened. He still got chocked up when he thought about the conversation he had with Trixie and her new husband George, the year before.

 **One year before**

 **Hancock County, GA**

 _They had been visiting with Trixie and her extended family on the day they had travelled to Georgia. Jerry and Karen had been in the trailer playing with their new cousins when Trixie and her new husband had gestured to him and asked him to join them on the screened in porch built into the modular home._

" _Governor…Fitz…I want to start off by telling you something that should ease the anxiety I know you have to be feeling. I want you to know…. I want you to know that I am not going to take Karen away from you"_

 _Fitz stared at the woman in front of him and felt the pressure that had been building in his chest for the last two weeks lessen. What was going on? He thought._

" _It wouldn't be fair to my baby… to Karen; you and Jerry are the only family she has ever know and it would be cruel to take her away from the only family she has ever known; I won't have her victimized again" she whispered_

" _I know you had to have been worrying about what was going to happen…when you got here" Trixie paused. Tears run down her face unchecked. Her husband George leaned into her as if trying to impart some of his strength to her._

" _She looks happy; all those nights that I spent awake wondering if she was safe, happy, warm…she was, thanks to you. I will be forever grateful to you for that"_

 _Trixie took a breath_

" _I would like Karen to determine how much time she would like to spend with us. I want her to be in charge of how this goes. If she doesn't want to get to know us… we will respect that decision"_

 _Fitz sat staring at the woman seated in front of him and felt…annihilated._

 _He had just witnessed the most selfless deed he had ever had the privilege of witnessing._

" _Fitz the only thing I want is for her to know that I love her…I loved her from the moment I found out she existed" Trixie smiled at him tremulously_

" _I want her to know I wanted her. I want her to know that I never gave her up…I want her to know that I never stopped looking for her…will you help me make sure she knows that?" Trixie asked_

 _Fitz looked at the young couple seated across from him and spoke to Trixie_

" _Trixie, I want to give you reassure you as you have me. I want you to know that you can see Karen whenever you want. I want you to know that Karen has the same kind spirit I have seen in you and I know she will want to know you" Fitz said confidently. He knew his baby; she would not reject this wonderful woman._

" _I want you to know that I love her. Jerry loves her…. I haven't always done right by them. I exposed them to Mellie for years, instead of having the courage to go to battle and get them away from her. I want to spend the rest of my making up for that mistake" he paused then continued_

" _I also want you to forgive me" he said to Trixie. She looked at him puzzled_

" _I want you to forgive me for not being aware of what my wife did. I should have known something was wrong, I think I did know that something was wrong when I thought she was pregnant with Karen. I should have known…I am very sorry" he said. The guilt had been seating on his chest like a one-thousand-pound weight_

 _Trixie was on her feet in seconds and seated next to Fitz. She grabbed a hold of his hand "Fitz, no! I know what happened. Karen, Jerry, You and me are the victims in this story, not the perpetrators. We need to leave all that blame and hate in the past. We need to be grateful that we have been able to find each other all of us. We are now family, okay?" she held his had tightly in hers._

 _Fitz squeezed her hand back. The raw emotion coursing through every inch of his body left him almost unable to speak' but finally he found his voice_

" _We are now family" he repeated_

 _And they were._

Fitz had come away from that experience a changed man. He was now a man whose cornerstone was family.

He had withdrawn from public life and bought a house in Palo Alto. He had taken the kids out of the exclusive boarding school in Colorado and brought them home to California.

He had enrolled them in a private school that was only a twenty-minute drive from their new home. He had gone back to practicing law once the media scrutiny had died down. He now worked out of a 5000 sq. ft space in the downtown area. Most of his work was provided to his client's pro bono.

His new law firm was nothing like his last one. The firm now focused mainly on immigration law. They worked tirelessly to help the multitude of people who came to America looking to improve their circumstance in his life.

The firm's clients list run the gamut. They helped everyone from rich investors who wanted to emigrate to the country; to victims of human trafficking who needed to be provided with asylum in the US to stop them from being shipped back to a country where they would be victimized again.

Those cases were the toughest on him.

His prediction had proved to be true. Karen _did_ want to get to know her birth family. She spent many nights on the computer skyping with Trixie and had spent three weeks of summer vacation in Georgia. Swimming and playing with cousins she never knew she had.

Fitz had offered to help the Doyle family out financially but they were prideful people. He finally convinced Patricia to move into a house he purchased for her in a better zip code. It hadn't been charity on Fitz's part. He wanted Karen to have a safe place to stay when she went to visit her birth mother.

Trixie had insisted on paying him rent for use of the property and he had accepted. She faithfully sent him seven hundred dollars a month for rent, which he then put into an account in Karen's name. He didn't have a college fund for Karen or Jerry he was worth millions of dollars, but he made a note to pay a portion of Karen's tuition with any money Trixie forwarded him. When the time came he would let her know that she had contributed to her daughter's education.

Trixie had meant it when she said that they were all family. Jerry and Fitz had accompanied Karen when she had gone to stay in Georgia over the summer; they had intended to stay overnight just to make sure that Karen was settled but the trip had ended up with them staying for an entire week, while Trixie and her family absorbed them into their large clan. Jerry and Fitz had gotten on a plane back to California with what felt like an additional twenty pounds packed on from all the down home southern cooking they had enjoyed.

Karen came bounding down the stairs breaking through his thoughts.

"I'm ready" she yelled from the hallway. Fitz picked up the lunch he had packed for her, grabbed his keys and they headed out the door.

* * *

Olivia was at a chic restaurant in downtown Santa Francisco having dinner with Abby and Stephen when Abby had pulled her hand from underneath the table and shoved it into Olivia's face.

Olivia pulled back startled by the hand in her face, but quickly recovered to see what Abby had wanted to show her. A huge rock glistened on her ring finger.

"Oh my God Abby, Stephen…when did this happen…congratulations!" She stood up from her side of the table and walked around to hug her friend

"Last week, he asked last week!" Abby said. Olivia made her way over to Stephen, kissed him on the cheek and gave him a big hug.

"Congratulations guys, I am so happy for you" she said as she returned to her seat. She was happy for her friend.

She also wasn't surprised.

Abby and Stephen had been dating for a year and were inseparable. Stephen the notorious confirmed bachelor had been brought to his knees by the beautiful, spunky red head and he couldn't wait to start a life and a family with her.

This one…this was the one for him.

Olivia and Abby spent the rest of the dinner discussing potential wedding venues and colors while Stephen looked on, content to watch Abby and her friend interact.

Around 10 p.m., Olivia left the restaurant using the excuse of having a migraine to gain her freedom.

She loved Abby and was happy for her; but there wasn't a woman alive who was nursing a broken heart that didn't feel sorrow when watching a happy couple.

Olivia's life had changed a lot over the past year. She had picked up and her life and moved from Sacramento where HQ had been based.

She had thought about moving back to New York, but couldn't bring herself to do it. California had become her new home. She was comfortable here; at least as comfortable as someone could be with a shattered heart. She had been glad to rid herself of the loft at Vienna Towers there were too many memories.

She would walk into the kitchen and remember the time Fitz and her had almost burned down the loft trying to cook a recipe the Barefoot Contessa made look easy to make. The times they spent cuddled up on her couch watching television. She had made love to Fitz in every room in the house. The memories were too painful to confront; so, she moved.

She had moved to Dogpatch; a hip up and coming neighborhood situated between Potrero Hill and the Bay. The neighborhood was once a thriving shipbuilding hub and there were many large warehouses that had been converted to comfortable residential spaces where she was able to rent another loft.

She liked the open feel of loft spaces.

She hadn't left her loft for three months after the breakup. She had spent hours on her couch watching the news. Watched as Fitz gave up his bid for the white house, watching as Mellie was perp walked into the courtroom for a sensational trial that all the media outlets were covering.

She watched as the judge handed down a life sentence plus twenty years to Mellie for the murder of Ricky Wayne Crawford Sr. and for stealing a baby out of Hancock county fourteen years earlier.

She watched as Mellie sobbed in an orange jumpsuit. Watched as she shuffled out of the courtroom shackled; her mother and her mother's boyfriend Joe Garcia following close behind. All three of them headed into the ether. Soon to be forgotten.

She watched and felt… nothing; she felt disconnected from the players on the TV.

After three months of self-pity, she had decided to get off her ass and do something constructive. She had taken the California State Bar exam and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination; both of which were required for her to practice law in the state of California. She passed both tests.

She had then applied for a job at the Office of the District Attorney in Santa Clara. She was hired on to be one of the roughly 190 prosecutors that worked in specialized teams. She ended up working in the Family Violence division under a very good Assistant District Attorney named Lee Huan.

She enjoyed her work, putting away the kind of cowards that thought it was okay to beat on women and children was gratifying.

She worked long days, grabbed something to eat on the way home and watched TV for hours before falling asleep.

The only person she kept in regular contact with was Abby.

It wasn't much of a life, but it was the best she could do for now.

* * *

Olivia was preparing to take a domestic violence case to court.

The defendant Maria Thompson nee Alvarez was accused of assaulting her husband during an argument. It was an open and shut case. The police had been called to the residence of Peter Thompson and he had been sporting scratches and bruises on his face and down his back.

Mr. Thompson said his wife Maria had come home drunk and assaulted him. The police had tracked her down at a friend's house cuffed her and charged her with Domestic Battery.

Open and shut case…only she wasn't so sure. She kept feeling that something was wrong and had brought up her concerns to her boss ADA Huan Lee.

"It doesn't feel right" she had told him during a meeting.

"Did it meet the four?" he asked referring to the four prong test they used to determine if they were going to prosecute a defendant.

Was there a crime committed?

Do we know who committed the Crime?

Can we prove it beyond a reasonable doubt in court of law?

Is charging the defendant the right thing to do?

She was four for four on the Thompson case but she still couldn't shake a feeling that something wasn't right.

"I don't trust the husband, he's working an angle. Those bruises were days old when he called the police to report the assault. Maria had just gotten back into town after visiting her mother for three weeks" she said listing her concerns to Lee

"Why is he doing it? Were they on the outs?" Lee asked

"Not that Maria will say…"

"Olivia we can't decline to prosecute cases because we have a feeling someone might not be guilty. Present the case and let the Jury decide" Lee said

"…and frankly women are just as capable of being abusers as men. We can't seem to have a double standard when it comes to prosecuting domestic violence"

"I know that Lee; I also know that she has petitioned for a green card based on her marriage to Thompson. Why would she jeopardize that? Especially coming from Juarez" Olivia said thinking out loud.

"Domestic violence is a knee jerk reaction kind of crime Olivia. Most abusers are not thinking about how hitting their spouse is going to ruin their life. If people thought like that our case load would be cut in half" Lee said responding to her concerns.

Olivia sat silent. She knew that women were just as capable of being violent as men. That wasn't her issue here. She just knew, her gut screamed that something wasn't right.

She had no intention of dropping it. She had ignored her gut before; done the wrong thing for what she thought were the right reasons and it had backfired spectacularly on her. She wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

"Maria ICE will probably detain you either way now that you have been charged with a felony" Fitz told the slight woman with the dark hair and dark eyes who sat across from him in an ICE detention center.

"I didn't touch him governor, I swear to god. This is all because he thinks I cheated on him" Maria said. The fear brought about by her circumstance practically vibrated off her.

Fitz had handled Maria's sisters green card application earlier in the year and when her sister was charged with domestic assault and subsequently detained by ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Janice had come to his office begging him to help.

Fitz quickly agreed and had headed over to the detention center to speak to Maria Thompson.

"He thinks I cheated. This is how he is going to get me to pay" Maria said crying silently.

Unfortunately for Maria she was at the mercy of her American borne husband until she went through the long arduous process of becoming a naturalized citizen.

"I believe you Maria, do you have any idea where he got the bruises?" Fitz asked

"No, I don't know…but I swear it wasn't me"

"Okay, I can't get you out of here; but I am going to get work on getting you a stay on your removal proceedings" Fitz told her

"Governor…Please Mr. Fitz you have to help me, if I go back to Juarez…." Maria couldn't finish what she was saying. Fitz didn't need her to.

The phenomenon of female homicide in Ciudad Juarez was well documented and reported on. He could only imagine the fear of being sent back to a region where over 300 women had been murdered, a third of whom had been sexually assaulted, or reported missing in the last few decades.

"Be strong Maria, I will do everything I can so you don't have to go back" Fitz told her with conviction.

"Thank you…I…Thank you"

Fitz was working late on the various immigration cases he had including Maria Thompson's.

He was reading through her file when he saw the name of the prosecutor in charge of presenting Maria's Domestic Abuse Charge.

Olivia Pope.

He sat there reading her name over and over again before logging onto his computer and pulling up the Santa Clara district attorney's office website. He surfed through until he came to a web gallery of all the prosecutors in the DA's office. The listings were alphabetical so she was close to the end of the web page.

He stared at her picture. All the emotions he had been doing a good job of hiding from came tumbling out of their hiding spaces.

He looked at her as the memories of what had to be one of he happiest and saddest times of his life washed over him.

Unable to look at her anymore he quickly closed out the website and sat quietly confronting what he had been avoiding for the past year.

He was still in love with her. He wasn't over her. HE didn't think he could ever be over her.

* * *

Olivia was in her office preparing for trial on multiple cases she had assigned to her overall caseload at the DA's office. There was a multitude of tasks prosecutors went through when preparing to present their cases. They had to read the complaints, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of their cases, practice their opening statements...the list went on and on.

Olivia was engrossed in reading the complaint on a domestic battery case, where a father had beaten his fourteen-year-old son, when her phone beeped. She picked up to speak to Carly. The assistant she shared with four other Domestic abuse prosecutors.

"What's up Carly?" she asked

"It's the Maria Thompson case. Her immigration lawyer is here and would like to talk to you about her case"

Olivia was irritated to be disturbed, but the Maria Thompson case had been bothering her and if her Immigration lawyer could offer insight into her case it was probably a good idea for her to talk to him

"Show him in Carly…What is his name?" Carly had dropped the line as soon as Olivia had said to show the attorney in; she hadn't caught the latter part so she never answered the question.

Oh well, Olivia thought. She stood and walked over to her door waiting for them to be shown in.

The door opened and Carly walked in

"Please come in Mr. Grant" She said gesturing into the office

Olivia's heart stopped. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the III walked into her office.

 _Fitz was in her office. Why was Fitz in her office?!_

Carly introduced Fitz

"Olivia this is Fitzgerald Grant, Mrs. Thompson's attorney"

She then turned and introduced Olivia

"Mr. Grant; this is Olivia Pope"

Carly smiled at the both of them, holding the sexy ex governors gaze for longer than required and then exited the office shutting the door behind her.

Fitz and Olivia stared at each other. He was the first to finally break the silence

"Hi"

"Hi"


	19. Chapter 19 - Forgiveness

**Chapter 19**

 **Forgiveness…**

" **There is no love without forgiveness and there is no forgiveness without love"**

 **Bryant H. McGill**

* * *

"Hi"

"Hi"

"You're Maria's lawyer" Olivia asked amazed she could string a sentence together. The shock of seeing him after all this time was still reverberating through her body.

"Her immigration lawyer, yes I am" Fitz responded. His heart was beating so fast he wondered if she could see the movement under his shirt.

"Uh…um…okay, would you like to take a seat?" she pointed at the solitary chair placed by her desk.

Fitz lifted his hand in a gesture that indicated he wanted her to lead the way. She spun around and walked back to her desk. She felt Fitz follow her and take up the visitor seat she had placed alongside her desk.

 _Why did I have the chair placed there?!_ She thought angrily at herself.

She usually did witness prep in her office so she had positioned the chair close to her; which now meant that Fitz sat very close to her. Close enough for her to smell the familiar aftershave…he smelled so good.

"So, what can I do for you today, Mr. Grant" she asked

Fitz laughed. Olivia frowned

"Want to share the joke?" she asked

"Just pondering the natural progression of the names you've called me. I started out as Governor Grant, finally got to Fitz and now I am at Mr. Grant" Fitz said amused

"Fitz…I..."

"Wow, I got you to say it and I didn't even have to ask" he said cutting her off when she said his name.

Olivia looked at him.

 _What was he playing at? He broke up with her! Never even gave her a chance to explain the reasons why she did what she did!_

Liv brushed off her internal outrage and decided to get the conversation back on track

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, making sure to not say his name…any of his names.

"I want you to enter a _nolle prosequi_ on her case" Fitz said getting to the point.

"You want me to declare the case discontinued…on what grounds?" Olivia said. Fitz started to respond but Olivia held her hand up stopping him from responding to her question.

"You know what, don't answer that. I can't discuss this with you. You're not her attorney for the criminal trial she has a public defender assigned to the case and I will only discuss this with him"

"She didn't do it Olivia" Fitz said quietly

"You don't know that Fitz"

"I do know that. I know because I've talked to her and met with her family. These are good people, plus she would never jeopardize her chance at a green card. If she is sent back to Juarez…God only knows what will happen to her there" Fitz replied.

Olivia was silent. She couldn't discuss this with him; but she was glad she wasn't the only one who had doubts about Maria Thompson's guilt.

"Fitz, I can't talk about this with you" she said.

"Can you at least push the trial date, I have a private investigator on the case and I just need time to…" Fitz started, but Olivia quickly stopped him

"Then tell her public defender to file for a continuance. The date has already been pushed back twice. If we do it again we could be accused of violating her sixth amendment right to a speedy trial" Olivia went on "I will repeat Fitz, I am not going to discuss this with you. You're not her lawyer"

Fitz sighed. He had known it was a long shot. He hadn't really expected her to drop the charges or to grant Mrs. Thompson a continuance.

 _Then why are you here?_ A tiny voice inside his head said; _because I wanted to see her. I needed to see her._

"Fitz why are you here? You knew the answer was going to be no…why are you here?" Olivia asked

Fitz was quiet. He stood up and walked around the room

"I don't know why I am here…no, that's a lie; I'm here because I wanted to see you Livvie" he turned to look at her.

"Fitz, I can't do this…this…it's too much" Olivia said her voice shaking. "I almost didn't make it the last time, I can't handle that kind of pain again…I can't"

"I know" Fitz said. "I don't think I could either" he said somberly.

He walked over to her and stuck out his hand

"Goodbye Olivia"

She stood up walked over to him and put her hand in his. The room fell silent. The sounds from the traffic outside the window, the humming of her hard drive computer. It all disappeared, when they touched. A simple handshake…but so much more….

Olivia tried to pull her hand away but Fitz held on. He used it to propel her forward and bring her flush against him.

"Have you missed me Olivia?" he asked her his face inches away from hers. Olivia grappled to regain her senses that were on overload from being this close to Fitz.

She did miss him. She was missing him now, even as he held her.

"Didn't you miss me Livvie?" he asked again, his sexy voice floating into her ear. Her long dormant nerve endings sparked, trying to come back to life; kickstarted by his voice.

"Kiss me Olivia" Fitz said

"Fitz…don't…"

"Kiss me"

"what…." She couldn't catch her breath

"Kiss me Olivia, we're alone the door is locked, its just you and me; kiss me Olivia" he said again

"You know you want to…kiss me…kiss me" his face was so close to hers their noses brushed. Olivia gave up the fight. She reached out and grabbed the back of his neck bringing his mouth down to hers.

Her lips moved over his; Fitz wasn't in the mood to take things light. He grabbed a hold of her waist pulled her deeper into him and moved his tongue into her mouth escalating the kiss.

Olivia moaned and tried to move in closer to that hard body. Fitz hands left her waist and his hands moved up to cup her face and he growled as the kiss grew bolder. Deeper.

He had missed this…missed his Livvie. It was so good. So. Good.

"Liv…Livvie…" Olivia suddenly panicked and pulled back

"We can't Fitz…we can't" _but boy did she want to._

Fitz stood still and then shook his head as if to clear cobwebs.

"I'm sorry Liv" he said coming to his senses

"Just go…Fitz, please just leave…have Maria's public defender call me. Don't come back here, Fitz"

She turned away and walked back to her desk. By the time she sat, he was gone. The only sign to prove he had even been there. A trace of expensive aftershave in the air.

Olivia sat her desk and shook from the pain.

* * *

He knew as soon as he had seen her.

It wasn't over… it had never been over. He wanted her back; needed her back.

The kiss had brought home truths that he had been denying too long. He needed Olivia in his life.

He thought back to the fight that had ended their relationship. Thought about the words exchanged.

He had been wrong. He should have stayed with her that night, should have listened to her, but he had been to hurt. His reaction had been based off of Mellie's transgressions. Mellie had kept the truth from him for selfish, self-serving reasons. Olivia had kept the truth from him because she loved him and she wanted to protect him.

He had punished Olivia for Mellie's sins.

He couldn't regret the past year of his life. Being away from her, Cyrus and public life had centered him. He was a better father, a better lawyer, a better friend…he was better.

He was now good enough to be the man Olivia deserved.

Now all he had to do was prove it to her.

* * *

 **The Blitz…**

 **The first...**

The gifts started arriving the next day.

The first package must have been delivered while she was at work. She was walking towards her apartment sorting through her mail when she saw the box.

It wasn't one of her usual deliveries. It wasn't a brown boxed with brown masking tape.

It was a vibrant purple with a pink polka dot ribbon wrapped around it. The package was beautiful.

She stood outside her apartment door in the hallway staring at the box for a full minute before she opened the door and went into the loft. She placed her mail down on the antique secretary desk in her entry way and turned back to look at the box.

She knew it was from him.

Finally working up the courage she bent down picked it up and brought it inside, placing it the desk.

She stared at it again.

 _Just open the damn box Liv! she told herself_

 _No, I will not open the goddamn box. He doesn't get to do this to me again!_

 _Open the effing box!_

 _Okay!_

That hadn't taken much convincing.

She pulled the pretty bow off the box and placed it to the side before pulling off the lid from the ornate purple box. She took a deep breath and looked inside and gasped. Tears sprang into her eyes.

It was a first edition copy of her favorite book. Madame Bovary. She lifted it gently out of the box and brought it up to her nose to sniff. She loved the smell of old books. It was the perfect gift.

Olivia had one thought.

That Bastard...

 **The second...**

Olivia was at home on Saturday. She hadn't heard from Fitz since she had received the first edition copy of Madame Bovary, he hadn't made any attempt to contact her.

 _Good! I am done. I cannot get hurt like that again._ She told herself.

 _Stop thinking about him!_ She lambasted herself.

This time she listened to herself.

She made a hot cup of tea and sat on her couch with a comfortable throw around her legs. She flipped open the Madame Bovary and started to read, but not before thinking to herself that this was the perfect way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.

She was halfway through the first chapter when the bell rang. She froze.

"Delivery" said a voice from behind the door.

He was sending her something else. She _knew_ he was sending something else. She should just ignore the door.

No, don't take it out on the delivery guy she told herself.

She put the book down, headed to the door and opened it to find a bouquet of beautiful Lillies where a head should have been.

"Are you Olivia Pope?" the flowers are speaking! She joked to herself.

"Yes" she said sighing.

Once he received confirmation the deliveryman walked into her apartment with the flowers. She frowned. _Well he's presumptuous!_

"I can take those from you…" She didn't get a chance to finish the sentence. She watched as a second deliveryman walked in…then a third…. fourth; what in the hell?

She sat speechless as the four men walked in and out over and over again placing vase after vase after vase of fresh cut flowers on every available surface in her apartment. By the time they were done, it looked like she was running a flower shop out of the loft!

There were roses, hydrangea's, lilies, Orchids planted in rich earth…they were beautiful.

"Someone must really, really like you lady" the deliveryman said. She turned from the flowers to look at him. He winked at her and walked out of the apartment closing the door behind him.

She looked around the loft and had only one thought.

That bastard!

 **The Third...**

Olivia sat on her favorite bench eating a salad she had picked up at the local deli for lunch. She had discovered the park close to her office when she had been out strolling during a break. It wasn't really a park; just a small green space with a fountain, but Olivia had fallen in love with it instantly.

Whenever she had a chance to grab lunch she would head over to a bench located near the fountain near a young man named Carl who played the guitar like a dream.

She would sit there and destress while he serenaded her and the other park goers. It was one of her favorite things to do.

She had been so tense these last few days. Fitz had sent her gifts two weeks in a row on.

Fitz knew her too well. He didn't go buy her expensive jewelry like most men did when they were in the dog house. No, he knew she wouldn't have responded to that. She would have been offended. Don't try and buy me, Mister!

Instead his subtle attack was to give her gifts he knew she would appreciate. Gifts he knew showed her how much he knew about her as a person. They had been prefect.

She hadn't received anything this week but she spent hours bracing for the next gift; another package that Fitz would send to test her resolve.

Nothing had arrived she was happy...

Nothing had arrived she was miserable...

She listened as Carl played familiar tune after familiar tune while occasionally throwing a smile her way which she returned. He was half way through strumming a song when she suddenly heard the timbre of a violin join in on the instrumental of Carl's guitar.

She turned to see a young man dressed similar to Carl walk up the park steps, around the fountain and join Carl. All while harmonizing musically with Carl's guitar. The small crowd gathered clapped, and the two men continued with the performance. This is lovely, she thought.

The song ended and the crowd showed their appreciation by tossing change and bills into the guitar case placed in front of the two men.

Olivia had been about to leave to head back into the office. When she heard Carl strum a few notes that instantly struck her. They were going to play one of her favorite songs! Simply beautiful by Al Green!

She looked down at her watch and shrugged; so, she would be late going back. Too damn bad!

She took her seat again just as the second kid joined in with the violin. They sounded beautiful, she almost wished she could buy a recording.

Suddenly a soulful voice belted out behind her and the crowd

" _If I gave you my love. I tell you what I'd do. I'd expect a whole lot of love out of you"_

She turned to see a young black man coming up the stairs singing the words of the song.

" _You got to be good to me. I'm gonna be good to you. There's a whole lot of things you and I could do…hey, hey"_

He slowly climbed the stairs as he sang. The crowd had been animated before but now they were ecstatic. Several hoots and hollers could be heard over the music.

Olivia froze and knew.

This is Fitz.

The young man worked the crowd as he sung the chorus "…simply beautiful…Hey…."

Olivia noticed he was working his way toward her as he sung. She wanted to ran but her butt was glued to the bench.

He finally worked his way over to her and broke into the next verse

" _What about the way you love me. And the way you squeeze me…Hey…Hey…simply beautiful hey"_

His voice was beautiful. Olivia sat there mesmerized as he sang.

Most of the park visitors assumed the trio had simply chosen a young woman in the park to sing to as part of their performance, part of their schtick.

But Olivia knew…This was Fitz.

Olivia had only one thought.

That dirty bastard!

 **The fourth...**

Olivia's nerves were shot.

Her defenses were weakening, there was only so much a woman could take!

She was in her apartment watching TV and every time she heard a noise she would mute the TV and listen. Was that someone at the door?

 _Stop it your being paranoid. She bereted herself._

Before she had a chance to process the rebuke she had just given herself. The door bell rang. She jumped from the couch and stared at her front door. She didn't move, she couldn't move.

She listened. The doorbell rang again.

She forced her feet to propel her to the door. She stood by waiting…she wasn't sure for what.

She heard a noise. It sounded like scratching….?

She walked over and turned the security lock before opened the door to… nothing?

Then she heard it a small yip coming from her feet. She looked down and saw what could only be described as the most beautiful beagle puppy she had ever seen in her life!

He was the kind of cute people killed for!

she walked out her door and picked the puppy up, cuddling it into her body.

"I didn't want to leave him alone. I wanted to make sure you would open the door" she heard a familiar voice say behind her.

She turned to find Fitz leaning against the far wall in her hallway. There was a plastic bag at his feet.

She stood staring at him the puppy squirming in her hands. He pushed off the wall, picked up the bag and walked over to her, handing her the bag.

"He's a baby, he comes with baby stuff" he joked. She moved the puppy to her left arm and grabbed the bag from him.

She stayed silent looking at him.

"Liv…forgive me" he said

She took the puppy, turned around and went into her apartment.

Fitz heart broke as he watched her disappear behind her door, but then she reappeared seconds later. She looked at him and then ran into his arms.

Fitz caught her joy exploding through him. He grabbed her and rained kisses all over her face while she eagerly tried to do the same. They were clumsy and missed the mark most of the time but it didn't matter.

"I'm so sorry Liv…I love you, I am so sorry…"

Liv had only one thing to say to that

"I forgive you…you bastard"


	20. Chapter 20 - One For The Ages

**Chapter 20**

 **One for the ages…**

"I love you" Fitz said

"I love you too" Olivia said.

"Arf" Fitz and Olivia looked down at the puppy she held in her lap and they both laughed.

She picked him up and brought him up to eye level.

"What should I name him?" Olivia asked in between blowing kisses at his adorable face.

"He's yours Livvie you can call him anything you want" Fitz said "even though I might go with annoying at this point" Fitz groused.

"Stop complaining Fitz, he should be tiring out soon" Olivia said

They had come into her apartment kissing and making up for lost time. Fitz had Olivia pinned to the front door and was getting ready to go at her caveman style when the puppy had come running up to them and started trying to climb up Liv's legs.

Olivia had picked him up and instantly forgotten about Fitz.

She cooed and blew kisses at the puppy and Fitz could swear the little dog threw him a smug look as Olivia carried him over her shoulder to sit on her couch.

Jerk.

She had settled on the couch and invited him to join her. He had excitedly done so until she informed him that they couldn't have sex until the baby aka the puppy was asleep.

"He's too young to see grown folk business" Liv informed him

He had never regretted getting a woman so much in his life.

The puppy looked at him again he swore the thing was smirking at him.

Jerk.

Finally, after an hour of being cuddled and spoiled by Liv, he had fallen asleep and she had asked Fitz to go get a blanket from her linen closet.

Liv had gone all crazy on him barking orders at him on how to fold it correctly so the dog could be comfortable and laid him gently on it. She stood over him smiling as she watched him sleep

"Max, I think I will call him Max" she said turning to him

"Why?" he asked. Though to be honest he really didn't give a shit why. He just wanted to get Liv naked.

"I don't know…he just looks like a Max" she said

Fitz was done been polite.

He grabbed Liv pulled her into his arms and kissed her voraciously. He turned her around toward the hallway and walked her backwards toward what he hoped was the bedroom without breaking the kiss.

He walked her through to the first door on the right and was gratified to see a bed. Bingo.

Well thank god I didn't walk her into the bathroom…even though that did up some interesting ideas of what he could do to her in the bathroom…the shower

Liv moaned and he refocused his attention. Why was he fantasizing when he had the real thing in his arms?

He pulled back from her pouty mouth and turned back to close the bedroom door. Liv could get loud and he didn't want that damn puppy waking up.

He flashed her predatory grin and began to pull of his clothes. The shoes went off first, followed by socks and then his shirt. He kept his jeans to help him retain a modicum of control; he walked towards her.

Liv stared at his hard body and thought about how much she had missed him. Missed being able to touch him.

She reached out and run her hands over his shoulder, brought them forward down to his chest, further down to his flat abs and further still to the hard bulge pushing at the zipper of his jeans.

He stopped her. He hadn't made love to Liv in so long he was afraid that one stoke of her hand would have him coming in his jeans.

He grabbed her roughly and pulled her against him, bringing his mouth down to hers for a rough kiss. He pushed into her mouth with his tongue, his senses refamiliarizing themselves with all the decadent flavors that he remembered.

He broke off the kiss and pushed her walked her back again. Liv thought he was walking her back towards the bed, but he moved to the right and walked her back into her dressing table.

He grabbed her sweet ass and hoisted her up onto the flat surface. He reached down and grabbed the hem of her t-shirt. He pulled it off her head and then reached down to kiss her again.

He next went for her bra. He unhooked it from the back and slowly pulled it off her. He took a step back and looked at the perfection before him. He looked his fill of her firm breasts, pebbled nipples and her flat taut stomach…mmhh...

He moved in close; he pulled her knees apart making a place for himself between her legs.

He looked up at her face, her eyes were closed.

"Liv, open your eyes" he growled sexily. She obeyed. Slowly her eyes drifting open.

He put his hand on her breasts and cupped them. He rotated his palms and then pinched her nipples. Liv moaned. The sound travelled down to his cock and he felt himself pulse in response.

He moved his head down and grabbed one hard nipple with teeth and then gently sucked it into his mouth. Pleasure rocketed through Liv's body. Fitz moved to her other breast and paid it similar attention. Nipping…sucking.

She moaned because it felt so good... She moaned because she wanted him to know how good he made her feel.

Fitz kept her luscious breast in his mouth as he reached down to unsnap her jeans. He pulled the zipper down and pulled back from her fabulous tits.

"Lift up" he ordered

Liv obeyed. He pulled the jeans and the underwear off with one quick pull. He discarded them on the floor and then focused on her.

Liv sat naked on the dresser and watched Fitz watch her. It was so sexy, she loved the way he looked at her. Like he wanted to devour her.

Fitz moved up close and gripped her knees slowly pulling them apart again. He looked down and her breasts caught his attention again. He pushed her breasts together and pushed his face into them licking and sucking. Liv moaned. She could feel everything he was doing between her legs. It made her wet…so wet

Fitz pulled back from her breasts and brought his fingers up to his mouth he sucked on his index and middle finger wetting them and then pushed his hand between her legs. Keeping his eyes on hers, he pushed one finger and then the other into her body. Liv moaned and her hips lifted off the dresser of their own volition.

He kept his eyes on her as he pushed his large fingers into her body over and over again as Liv moved her hips seeking to push him even deeper. She felt the orgasm rolling down on her and she grabbed the back of his head as she rode his fingers to completion.

Fitz felt her clasping on his fingers as she came and moaned into her mouth as they kissed. He couldn't wait to feel that pussy wrapping itself around his hard cock.

Liv came down from the sweet orgasm slowly and pulled her mouth away from Fitz to draw a breath. He caught her gaze as he pulled his fingers from her body and brought them to his mouth sucking her taste off them.

He closed his eyes.

"You taste so good Livvie" he said huskily. He then grabbed her mouth and let her taste what he was tasting. Shared with her the sweet elixir of her pussy. Liv returned his kiss hungrily.

She reached out and grabbed the hand that had just been in her body, she grabbed his fingers opened her mouth and pulled them into her mouth sucking them in and out.

The provocative move made Fitz lose all control he grabbed her off the dresser, wrapped her legs around his midriff and carried her to the edge of her king size bed. He pushed her down and quickly pulled off his jeans and underwear.

He was unhinged. The only thing that he could focus was shoving his cock into Liv's welcoming body. He grabbed his cock and aligned it with her wet opening and thrust in hard. A shout escaped his lips as her pussy wrapped itself around his cock. Tiny muscles clamped down hard making it hard to breathe due to the pleasure radiating from his cock.

"Liv…I can't…I can't hold back" he groaned out his body vibrating.

"You feel so good… so tight…" he said his voice deep and gruff in her ear.

"Don't Fitz…don't hold back" she whispered in his ear and squeezed her legs tighter around him.

Fitz let go. He pushed powerfully into her body over and over again. He was lost, adrift in the madness of finally being with Livvie again. He hammered into her unchecked. Liv could only hold onto his shoulders and scream as he thrust hard and deep, hitting a spot inside of her that lit up her whole body.

Liv detonated. The powerful orgasm rolled over and robbed her of all her senses. Her hips pulsed at him erratically as the pleasure spasms rocked through her body.

Fitz felt Liv's pussy clamp down on his cock even tighter as she came.

Fuuuck! He knew he didn't have far to go to join her he grabbed a hold of her wrists and pulled her arms over her head. He pushed into her body, once, twice and he was done.

He closed his eyes and erupted his head thrown back as he emptied himself into her body. The orgasm went on and on almost violent at its peak. He let out a guttural shout and collapsed on top of her.

She wrapped her arms around him and he let her. His breathing finally slowed down and he lifted himself off her. He lifted her into his arms and headed to the bathroom.

"Fitz what…where are we going?" she asked her voice drowsy.

"I'm not done with you" he said gruffly "I want to take a bath with you then put you back on the bed, eat you and fuck you and then fall asleep in your arms" he said

The sexy coarse words washed over her and she felt herself reenergized.

"Sounds like a plan"

* * *

 **Hours Later…**

Liv and Fitz lay in bed their fingers laced through each other's. Max had woken up after their second session of knock out, drag out sex and Liv had quickly run out to get the puppy and soothe him. She came back into the bedroom and placed him on the bed. Max gave him a look disapproving and then settled down at the foot of the bed.

Jerk.

They spent hours talking, catching up on the year they had been apart. Fitz told her about Trixie and George and there selfless love for Karen; that had made her cry. He told her how he loved having Karen and Jerry home full time. Shared about the difficult months when Mellie was on trial and how it had broken his heart to tell his daughter about her difficult start in life

She told him about moving from Sacramento and her work in the DA office. She told him how much she had missed him.

He in turn shared about his new law firm and his new found passion to help people who through no fault of their own had been given such a difficult lot in life.

They talked until the sun came creeping through the blinds of her bedroom and fell asleep wrapped so tightly together it was difficult to tell where one began and the other ended.

* * *

 **Three months Later…**

Olivia hadn't wanted a big wedding.

Sometimes when you found the one you love and the one you were meant to be with…the frills didn't matter. She only wanted to be with her family when she exchanged her vows with Fitz.

Fitz gave her what she wanted, like he always did.

The wedding was a small affair. Liv wore a simple white dress and walked barefoot on the beach to Fitz, Jerry and Karen; her new family.

Abby and Stephen had acted as witnesses. Max had been an adorable ring bearer. He had taken off running at an inopportune time during the ceremony, but Jerry had managed to wrangle him back into position while everyone laughed, so Fitz and Olivia could exchange rings.

They had a party after. Trixie and George joined them. Everyone drank too much champagne and had a great time.

They honeymooned in South Africa. They lived in California so Fitz and Liv didn't want to do the whole beach vacation thing. Instead they spent their time in a game reserve watching Lions, Rhinos, Elephants and more in their natural habitat. Liv had cried when she got to touch an old Elephant called Bwana at the game park. Bwana had offered her his trunk and she had placed her hand on him and Fitz snapped a picture of her smiling at him.

They got back to Palo Alto and she went back to work at the DA's office ;Fitz went to work at his firm.

Life was good. It was better than good.

It was perfect.

Fitz and Liv; Liv and Fitz.

A love for the ages.


	21. Chapter 21 -Epilogue

**Chapter 21**

 **Three years later…**

This was utterly ridiculous thought Olivia.

 _I cannot believe people do this more than once in lifetime. What kind of crazy did you have to be to subject yourself to this for more than once in your life?_

She felt her belly tighten again and within a minute the pain was peaking and she was yelling again. At Fitz.

"This is all your fault, you bastard. If you think we are ever doing this again you got another thing coming!" she thought back with a frown at the delusional times she and Fitz had talked about children. Two babies they had thought. Two babies; a nice even number.

Well that little fantasy needed to be shelved. One baby, that's all he got.

One. Baby.

As the pain rolled over her she had only one thought. That bastard, he did this to me!

Fitz sat on a chair in front of Olivia supporting her arms as she sat and rocked on a birthing ball. The damn thing was supposed to be help relieve pressure on her pelvis. It was not fucking working! She wanted a refund! As soon as this thing popped out she was heading to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a refund.

Give me my twelve dollars back you motherfucking liars!

The tightening started again and she glared at Fitz. Fitz looked back helplessly.

Fitz was a man in hell. He forced himself not to recoil and run from the virago that had taken over his beautiful wife. Damn right they were not doing this again! He had been so focused on the joy of Olivia giving birth to his son, he hadn't taken time to consider how much pain she would be in during labor. Seeing Olivia in this much pain was breaking his heart.

"I am so sorry baby, I would do anything for you; I hate to see you in so much pain, I wish I could take it for you" he soothed.

The midwife who had been in the room winced as soon as Fitz finished speaking. He looked over at her and she shook her head and silently mouthed the word _no_ to Fitz; but it was too late. Oliva had heard him.

"If you don't want to watch me be in pain then maybe you can leave. I can deliver the baby by my damn self. Do you have to be such a fucking man?" she growled in a deep guttural voice he didn't recognize.

He didn't need an OB/GYN. He needed a freaking exorcist.

Three hours later Olivia delivered. The baby was seven pounds eight ounces and he was absolutely beautiful. Later in the day the Grant family sat and looked as Olivia held the latest member of their family.

Theodore "Teddy" John Grant.

Olivia held his tiny hand and felt overcome with an emotion that was petrifying due to its intensity. Her baby. Her and Fitz's baby…the tears run unchecked down her face as she stared down at him and rocked him. She turned and grabbed a hold of Fitz behind the neck and brought his face to hers. Their foreheads touched as they looked at the tiny marvel in Olivia's arms.

Jerry and Karen looked on moved by the scene. Karen cried openly; Jerry trying to be a man about it and kept gulping trying to keep his emotion contained. He lost the battle.

There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

The nurse came by later and took Teddy off to the nursery. Olivia didn't want to let him out of her arms but she finally gave him over reluctantly.

As soon as the nurse was out of the room, she turned to Fitz and said

"I am serious Fitz, I am not doing that again. Teddy is the only baby you and I are having. Three Kids is enough. Jerry, Karen and Teddy are all we need. Agreed?"

Fitz nodded

"Agreed"

She fell back on the bed and closed her eyes. She was glad he had agreed. She didn't want to fight the big lug.

Two years later Maya Elizabeth Grant was born…and three years after that came Eli Dane Grant.

 **Five years after the birth of Eli Dane Grant…**

"We are going to be late" Fitz said glaring at Olivia

"Then we are late, Fitz! You don't harangue a bride on her wedding day about the time"

Fitz was about to respond when the bedroom door opened and Karen walked out.

His heart stopped. She looked beautiful. He felt the moisture gathering in his eyes.

"You look beautiful honey"

She smiled at him nervously "Thanks dad"

She smiled and turned towards where Olivia and Trixie were standing and asked

"Well?"

Olivia and Trixie stood silently. They wept as they looked at the vision before them. They were both assailed with images of Karen as a little girl and they tried to reconcile those memories with the confident poised woman who stood before them.

"I don't think I have ever seen anything so beautiful in my life" Trixie said. She moved forward and wrapped her daughter in a hug. Taking care not to wrinkle the very expensive Alexander McQueen wedding dress.

"Thanks mom. You all have to stop crying, if you don't I am going to start and ruin my makeup" Karen said sternly looking at all three of them.

They all nodded; Fitz, Trixie and Olivia. There was no way in hell they were going to be able to keep that promise.

They all headed down the stairs and out the doors to the waiting cars. Fitz wanting the best for Karen, had hired a fleet of Rolls Royce Silver Clouds to transport the family and the bridal party to the church.

Fitz and Karen were in one car while the rest of the family got into another. The remaining two cars in the fleet transported various bridesmaids and groomsmen.

The ceremony was beautiful and the wedding reception ended up being a rambunctious affair. Karen and her groom were only twenty-two so the whole thing turned into one big bash with people dancing late into the night. Around one in the morning Karen and her now husband, Christian had said their goodbyes and taken off in the silver cloud.

Fitz and Olivia headed home soon after. They got home around two in the morning, stopped by to check on the children who had been brought home hours ago by the nanny and then headed off to bed.

"I still think she is too young" Fitz said as he pulled off his dress shirt and cuff links

"She is young, but she has a good head on her shoulders. She is years ahead of her peers. She'll be okay Fitz. I just know it" Olivia said as she walked up to him and offered him her back so that he could unzip her.

Fitz lowered the zipper and Olivia made a move to walk away but she was quickly grabbed back into his arms.

"You looked beautiful today" he whispered huskily into her ear. She smiled and turned into his arms. "You didn't look half bad yourself"

She loved seeing Fitz all dressed up in formal wear. It turned her on something bad.

He reached down and placed a kiss on her lips which quickly escalated. Twenty minutes later Olivia lay flat on her back moaning while Fitz moved powerfully inside her.

She came first and Fitz quickly followed. Emptying himself inside her until he felt drained of even his blood. Livvie did that to him.

Fitz rolled off liv and pulled her into his side. He thought back over his life. The tough years with Mellie, finding out about Karen's kidnapping…He had suffered a lot of strife in his life. However, as the happy years passed by now with Olivia and the kids he knew that it had all been part of a grand master plan. There was no way he could have appreciated the little slice of heaven that was his life without all the pain that come before.

Olivia sensing his contemplative mood raised her head up off his shoulders.

"Anything you want to share?" she asked her hand moving up and down his chest in a soothing motion.

He nodded and smiled at her fiendishly.

Uh-oh thought Olivia. She was in trouble

"Ceiling or Floor?" Fitz said

Olivia floundered "What?"

"Ceiling or floor Olivia, pick a view" he said again

Confused she shook her head at him trying to get him to clarify. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could speak he had picked her up and rolled her beneath him. He pulled her legs around his midriff and dropped a quick kiss on her lips.

"Ceiling" he said and then threw a glance up. He then rolled over taking her with him so she straddled him "or floor; pick a view Livvie. So, I know how you want me to fuck you" he pulled her down and ate at her mouth. Olivia moaned and rode the hard bulge positioned oh so perfectly between her legs.

She pulled back from the kiss and smiled down at Fitz

"Surprise me" she rocked her hips into his cock and Fitz closed his eyes at the sensation and then slowly opened them to look into her eyes. She loved seeing the heat reflected in those beautiful steel grey eyes.

Fitz rolled over and made love to Livvie again and again until the sun came up.

They finally fell asleep but not before saying it like they did every night and would for years to come

"Love you Livvie"

"Love you more Fitz"


End file.
